


He's my son

by DancedemdemDance



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Batfamily (DCU), Cannon none specific, Canonical Character Death, Childhood Memories, Coma, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Established Relationship, Family, Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mark Schultz (He's my son), Memories, Past Character Death, Possible Cannon Diversion, Song Lyrics, Songfic, batfam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-02-13 12:17:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21494170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancedemdemDance/pseuds/DancedemdemDance
Summary: Batman hides his most important memories away and it's up to his sons and lover to bring him back before it's too late, but none of them were prepared for what Bruce has been hiding in the depths of his mind.
Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 57
Kudos: 292





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of different ideas, but wouldn't fill out full stories so they were kinda weaved into one story instead.  
Part of this story is based on and/or inspired by the song "He's my son" by Mark Schultz.  
I don't own any of the characters or the lyrics used in this story.

Superman stormed into the infirmary in the Watchtower. He had rushed over the second he had been contacted over the League com.

“How is he?” he asked concerned as he came to a stop next to the only occupied bed.

  
“He is weak, and growing weaker” J'onn J’onzz replied in his monotone voice as he released his mental link with Batman. Superman looked down at the other superhero and took in the much too still body. Although Superman knew that even in sleep Batman was as quiet as the shadows, this was different. His breathing was barely moving his chest and he could hear the heartbeat that was beating too slow for just sleep. He let a hand find rest on one of Batman’s exposed cheeks. The skin was ash grey and cold to the touch, yet still clammy with sweat.

  
“Can’t you do anything to help him?” Superman asked desperately and looked at the Martian. The green man slowly shook his head.

  
“Unfortunately, no. Batman knew that the machine Hugo Strange created was meant to attack his mind, so he has retreated to a place where I can’t reach him”

  
“Then what? We just sit here and watch until he…” Superman stopped. The thought alone was too painful. “...dies?”

  
“That is why I contacted you Superman. I can’t help him, but perhaps there is still hope that you can reach him” J’onn explained and placed a calming hand on Superman’s shoulder.

  
“How? I don’t know anything about mind games like this” the man of steel admitted helplessly.

  
“Superman you must understand that the mind, particularly Batman’s, is a complex thing and while all of the Batman’s mind I was able to see is currently in ruins, I saw no sign of Batman himself. He has locked the most important part of himself so far away that it can’t be damaged. I followed his mind as deep as I could until I came to a mental barrier I could not pass”

  
“But you think I can? So you want to… what… find this barrier and punch through it?” Superman asked confused still not looking away from the still form in the bed. He knew very little about how telepathy worked, but he knew that his suggestion was a silly one. He knew the mind was not something you could punch through like in the real world, but he didn’t know how else he could be of use.

  
“No, I do not believe that will be of any assistance and I don’t think you can do this alone. Allow me to show you what I found?” J’onn asked and held out a hand, patiently waiting for Superman to turn to him when he was ready.

  
“Of cause” Superman finally said and forced himself to look away from Batman and took the offered hand. He closed his eyes and let his mind relax as best as he could. He sensed J’onn gently guide his mind. He didn’t fight it. Just let himself flow with the mental images.

  
“We are here” J’onn announced and when Superman opened his eyes he stood in front of a huge black gate. It was so large it dwarfed even Clark. It was made of metal, but there was no keyhole or handles. In fact, he couldn’t see any way this massive wall was supposed to open at all.

  
“Are you sure anyone can get past this?” Superman asked quietly. If J’onn was right then Bruce was one the other side of this door and there was no way for him to reach him, to help him and it seemed more and more hopeless by the minute.

  
“I am certain. This is a defense mechanism and while it is strong no defense is perfect, not even Batman’s” the Martian stated.

  
“We both know that when it comes to Batman no one can outsmart him. We will never get to him in time if we have to find a way around this”

  
“I am not suggesting we go around, but to use the key that opens the door. Look” J’onn gestured to the door at large and after having looked at it for a while he saw that the Batman symbol was engraved into the door. Clark knew this better than probably anyone aside from the Batman himself, so he quickly noticed that this engraving had a wrong line and hope started to spread when he noticed that the wrong vertical line ran through the entire symbol slitting it in half. So the door could be opened after all. Clark stepped closer to the door and once he was a few feet away from the other alien, the symbol of the house of El light up right in the middle of the bat. His symbol was also vertically divided. Superman stepped all the way up to the door and let his fingertips brush over the symbol. When he stood on the ground he could just barely reach the bottom of the S. Nervously, but determined he started pushing against the door, but it didn’t budge.

  
“Come on open” Clark gasped as he braced himself in order to push harder, but now that he was forced to look down the side of the door he caught sight of something else engraved in the door. Giving up the hopeless endeavor, Clark walked down one side of the door and saw two different symbols. The first one was somewhat familiar to him. It was almost an identical symbol of a bat, but this one was drawn with more straight lines instead of the curved edges the Batman logo was known for. It gave it a harder and more pointed look. The next one was more birdlike, maybe an eagle of some kind, that had spread its wings. Clark turned around and walked back towards the middle, passed his own symbol that was still glowing and stopped at the symbol on the other side of his. This one was a circle with another bird depicted. It had a more rounded head than the other bird and there were no wings on this one. Superman continued his inspection of the door and when he reached the last symbol, he recognized it instantly. It was the iconic R of Robin currently being held by Bruce’s only biological son Damian Wayne. Clark slowly backed away from the door now that he knew he could never be able to do this alone and his heart sank a little when he noticed how the glow of his emblem faded the further away he got. Before he knew it, he was standing next to J’onn once again. “You were right J’onn I can’t do this alone”

  
“Do you have what you need?” the other inquired patiently.

  
“Yes, I do” Clark took the Martian’s hand one more and when Clark one again was back in the infirmary, cast one last look at Bruce before heading out. He had some people to find.

* * *

It didn’t take much to find most of the people he needed. He started his search with Damian. The young boy was most likely at the Wayne manor awaiting an update on his father’s condition. However, Clark was slightly surprised, but relived to find two other young men already there as well, meaning they were only one man short, but first he needed to fill the boys in.

  
“Finally, what news do you have of my father alien” Damian demanded to know the moment Clarks toes touched the floor of the batcave. Superman quickly filled them in on Batman’s condition and how he needed their assistance.

  
“Great so that means we have to go hunting for the lunatic before we can do anything” Tim commented irritated.

  
“Don’t worry he will be about. Undoubtedly to keep up with Bruce’s condition as well” Dick tried to comfort the younger teen, but it only caused the other to groan.

  
“Quit complaining Drake and get a move on. Father needs us” Damian commanded and moved towards the batmobile.

  
“Oh no, you don’t baby bird” Dick quickly intercepted the other. “When Brice is not here who is in charge?” Dick asked with a smile. A smile that made Damian scowl with utter rage.

  
“You are” the youngest bit out.

  
“So who drives the car?”

  
“I know how to drive Grayson” Damian protested firmly.

  
“Who drives the batmobile?” Dick simply asked again. A mussel near Damian’s nose moved back and made the young boy look like a feral dog ready to jump his pray.  
“You do” he answered in the end and with almost no more arguing the three boys piled into the car and headed for the city.  
It only took two hours before they tracked down Jason Todd. Or more precisely he found them, granted they were doing little to conceal their movements, but it surprised Superman that the man was hesitating to aid Batman.

  
“Why do you need me anyway?” he had growled at them.

  
“I don’t know, but it’s pretty clear that the door won’t open without you” Clark explained.

  
“And why would I want to go poking around the old man’s mind anyway?” he shot back.

  
“What? Are you scared?” Damian asked with a cocky smirk. “Even Drake has enough backbone to see this through”

  
“Thanks, I guess” Tim broke in uncertain is it was a compliment or an insult.

  
“Fine. Man does he owe me for this” Red Hood finally relented and Superman quickly contacted the Watchtower to have them all beamed up before the rouge could change his mind.

  
“Superman” Diana greeted them as they stepped off the platform.

  
“Any news?” he asked her as they all headed further inside the tower.

  
“Nothing good I’m afraid. We have moved him to a room where J’onn will be able to connect you all to Batman’s mind, but it doesn’t look good. J’onn says the odds of saving him gets smaller with each passing second.

  
“Then we should hurry” Superman confirmed and they all started a quick march, borderline run through the tower with Diana leading them.

  
“Good. You are finally here” J’onn said the second they entered the room. Six field beds had been set up in a circle with J’onn standing in the middle, hands on either side of Batman, who was already occupying one of the beds, eyes glowing.

  
“Freaky” Tim whispered more to himself than anyone else as a shudder went through his body.

  
“Pull yourself together Drake” Damian snarled.

  
“Quickly you must take your places” the green alien instructed and they all quickly found a bed to lie on.

  
“Good luck. May the gods be with you” Diana saluted them before J’onn took over and guided them all through shattered memories and broken dreams, all the way to the door.

  
“Waw. The old man sure doesn’t do anything half-assed” Jason whistled impressed.

  
“Language” Dick commented absentmindedly as he still hadn’t taken his eyes away from the door.

  
“Oh, shut it Dick” Jason snarled.

  
“This way” Superman broke in before an argument could break out, but before they got too far J’onn stopped them.

  
“I have never seen a mental barrier like this before, so I must warn you that I might not be able to follow you through the door, let alone prepare you for what you might find on the other side” the green alien warned them.

  
“Any change you could be willing to take a guess?” Dick asked hopefully.

  
“Most likely the memories that define him” J’onn stated as if speaking from experience. The team them turned to the door of doom. As they stepped up each emblem came to life, all except one. They all turned to Jason to see that the man was stubbornly folding his arms over his chest.

  
“Seriously?” he growled when he too noticed the difference. “Ugh fine” he groaned on disgust and lowered his arms, allowing the symbol on his chest to become visible. Instantly the last engraving light up and a light spread from the top of the opening of the door to the bottom. To everyone’s surprise the door opened soundlessly and they were enveloped in a bright light.

* * *

Once the light started to die down. The four Robins and Clark blinked in the hopes of adjusting their eyesight after being blinded.

  
“So what now?” Jason grumbled and looked around. It could appear that they had been transported to a street somewhere on Gotham city.

“How should we know? Let’s just hope the alien knows what he’s doing” Damian bit back.

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I too am at a loss” Clark sadly admitted as he tried to see if it was a place he could recognize, but Clark didn’t exactly know Gotham City like the back of his hand, the same way they younger heroes around him did.

  
“I wasn’t talking about you. I meant the other alien” Damian clarified as if Clark was being an idiot, but it did give him an idea.

  
“J’onn can you hear me?” Superman called out.

  
“Indeed, but it is very faint. You are very deep inside Batman’s mind” the Martian confirmed. “He has hidden himself away in here somewhere. You must find him”

  
“So what? We wait around to see when or if Batman in this memory decides to show up?” Jason asked confused.

  
“Um, guys” Dick called with a sad tone. “What memory of a dark alleyway somewhere in Crime Ally would Bruce find so important and defining that he would hide it away behind such a door?” the eldest of the Robins asked and a heavy silence fell over the group as they turned to look in the same direction as Dick. Just across the road a family of three was heading into the alley across from them.

  
“HEY BRUCE, STOP” Jason yelled and started running towards the ten-year-old.

  
“NO, STOP” J’onn’s voice called from everywhere.

  
“What now?” Tim sighed exhausted.

  
“I sense that these memories are extremely fragile. You mustn’t disturb them or the damages done to Batman’s mind could be devastating. You must let the memories guide you, but do not touch them” he informed them before falling silent just as a couple of gunshots rang form the alleyway, making them all jump.

  
“And how are we supposed to let memories guide us?” Damian demanded to know, but there came no answer from neither the group nor J´onn. At a loss for what to do next they all gathered together and started discussing their next cause of action. All of them desperately trying to ignore the heartbreaking scene taking place not too far from them.

  
“Wait, guys, I think I see something” Tim called suddenly and pointed at the road. A figure was standing at the edge of the alleyway looking at the scene where the police had arrived. A heavy cloak and a large hat kept his identity a mystery.

  
“It an idiotic bystander. What’s the big idea Drake?” Damian scuffed.

  
“No, he is standing too close to the scene of a crime. An officer would have pushed him back, but look. They are not even taking notice of him. It’s like he isn’t there” Tim punctuated every word in the last sentence, while pointing accusingly at the figure, who chose this exact time to turn to them and acknowledge them with a tip of his hat.

  
“Alright, that’s it, let’s get him” Jason announced and started running across the street followed by the rest of the group, but no matter how hard they pushed forward the stranger simply turned and walked calmly into the alleyway and out of sight.

  
“Jason stop. Watch out for the memories” Dick called out and grabbed hold of Jason’s arm before he could charge into the narrow pathway. The stranger was just visible at the end of the alleyway, where he once again greeted them with a tip of his hat, before turning on his heel and walking into the darkness.

  
“He’s getting away” Jason complained angrily.

  
“And we are going after him… just carefully” Dick promised as he slowly started moving through the tight space being very careful not to disturb anything. His brothers quickly followed and before long they were all through and continued down the path the figure had disappeared. Soon a light appeared and if Clark were to take a guess, they were about to enter the next memory. He couldn’t help, but turn around to look at the tiny form of Bruce who had a blanket wrapped round him. How he wished he could make this memory go away, how he wished he could wipe away the hurt this memory caused.

  
“I’ll find you” Clark promised with a whisper just as a younger Alfred arrived and kneeled in front of Bruce to hug him. It was the last thing Clark saw before the light enveloped him and when he looked forward again he had already entered the next memory.

  
There was no mistaking the interior decoration of the manor. The entrance hall to be exact. A loud crash was heard as a lighting flashed outside illuminating the hall momentarily before it fell into darkness.

  
“Anyone see our wayward memory?” Jason asked as he carefully looked around the room. Tim gave a sound that was neither confirming nor denying and Damian just made his usual click of annoyance.

  
“Hey over there” Clark called when he noticed a door standing ever so slightly ajar, where warm light was sneaking into the dark and cold entrance hall. They all crept closer and gently pushed the door open. In the armchair facing the door a well-known figure was sleeping. Alfred in the memory looked exhausted as his head as resting in his hand.

  
“This mean anything to anyone?” Tim asked quietly as all the boys were strangely fascinated by watching the butler sleep so carelessly. Clark opened his mouth to say no, but a sound stopped him.

  
“Outside” Clark announced and they all turned to face the entrance door, ready for anything that might come through. “A car” Clark informed them, but as soon as the car door slammed shut Alfred woke with a grunt. The hero team quickly cleared the door and let the butler pass without toughing him. Before the elderly could reach the door, it opened ever so quietly and the mysterious figure stepped inside.

  
“I’m surprised to see you come through the front door sir. I fully expected you to emerge from your cave… again” the butler said flatly and took the jacket and hat as it was offered to him.

  
“I was out on business as Bruce Wayne this time” the memory explained as he tried to shake the storm off him. This version of Bruce was noticeably younger than the current one.

  
“Very good sir”

  
“How was everything here?” Bruce asked quietly and a sadness overtook his face and his eyes sought upwards, towards the top of the staircase.

  
“As well as one can expect I suppose” the butler informed his master as he disposed of the soaked outerwear. Bruce hummed. “He was asking for you again tonight”

  
“I know Alfred. I know” Bruce admitted and the sadness seemed to overwhelm him for a moment.

  
“The boy lost his parents not two weeks ago sir. He could use a friend right about now” the other continued and unbeknownst to the butler and Bruce, everyone turned to look a Dick. The young man was slightly red around the cheeks and his shoulders were pulled up around his ears, something Clark knew he only did when embarrassed.

  
Bruce then started walking up the stairs and as Alfred retired for the night, the batclan followed the man, they were trying to save. They walked down the dark hallways, but then the billionaire stopped in front of a door that Dick recognized all too well. It was the door to his old room. Bruce stood in front of it for a moment before taking a deep breath as if preparing himself. Then he opened the door and small whimpering sounds quietly escaped the room. The team stood frozen as the others realized that this was not only a very private memory to Bruce, but to Dick as well.

  
“Hey there little bird” Brice voice sounded ever so gently form within the room. Dick slowly walked forward and stood in the doorway, completely shocked at what he was seeing. He barely noticed how his family gathered around him. A young Dick Grayson was lying in the bed fast asleep, but sobs and tears continued to escape from him. Bruce was kneeling next to his bed whispering quietly into his ear. One hand gently running over his hair in a desperate attempt to sooth him. The other hand had been captured by one of Dick’s in a tight grip.

  
“I… I don’t remember this” Dick informed the others quietly, but they didn’t answer as they all just watched the scene unfold before them. Bruce then shifted and they all thought he was about to leave the room, but instead he just seemed to make himself as comfortable on the floor as possible.

  
“I’m down on my knees again tonight” Bruce said quietly, but he clearly wasn’t talking to Dick anymore, but his hand never stopped caressing the top of his head. “I’m hoping this prayer will turn out right. See there is a boy that needs your help. I’ve done all that I can do myself” Bruce continued and that sense of hopelessness overtook him once more. “Each night as he sleeps I go in to hold his hand and I try…” Bruce cut himself off as he swallowed hard. His eyes wandered to the window where he watched the storm "...not to cry, as the tears fill up my eyes. Can you hear me? Am I getting through tonight? Can you see him? Can you make him feel alright? If you can hear me, let me take his place somehow. See he’s not just anyone… he’s my…son” a sob shook his body and fell quiet after that as he quietly let tears stream down his face as he turned back to look at Dick. "Looks like they owe me one tonight" Bruce whispered and gently kissed Dick's temple.

After a while Bruce straightened himself once more and reached over to the other side of the sleeping form of Dick and took one of the many pillows what had accumulated in the boy’s bed in the short time he had lived in the house. Bruce than carefully dropped it on the ground under him, while being very careful not to disturb the now quiet form of Dick. As if time was suddenly set on fast forward Bruce remained kneeing on a pillow next to Dick’s bed, holding the boy’s hand. Eventually the man slumped against the bed as he fell asleep. As the shadows rapidly passed over the floor it must have neared sunrise when they all had to jump out of the way when Alfred came in and woke an exhausted Bruce. The two left the room shortly after.

  
“Over there” Tim said quietly as he gestured towards the window, where Batman was watching them form outside. He then beckoned them closer, before fading into the shadows completely.

  
“Grayson, are you coming or what?” Damian asked as he stepped closer to the first Robin. Instead of moving towards the window like the rest of them, he was kneeling next to the bed where his former self was no longer visible now that the memory had ended.

  
“I remember this pillow you know” Dick said quietly as he caressed the soft material that was still thrown on the floor. “I always thought I just pushed it out of the bed, but every morning for the first month or so of my stay with Bruce this pillow would be on the ground. Without fail and always the same one” Dick’s voice shook for a moment, but then he cleared his throat and got up.

  
“Grayson…” Damian started, but then stopped when he realized that he didn’t know what to say.

  
“It’s okay Mini bat. Thank you” Dick smiled and placed a reassuring hand on Damian’s shoulder before walking past him and over to the window.

  
“Are we done here?” Jason asked as he shifted uncomfortably by the window.

  
“Yeah. Let’s go find the old bat” Dick confirmed and they all crawled out the window.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The journey through memories continues.  
Some of this will be consistent with cannon, but most of it is made up scenarios.

The next memory they entered took them to the batcave, but no one was there. They all started exploring, in hopes of finding the memory. Damian and Dick moved towards the back where the training area could be found and to Clark’s surprise, Jason started hovering around the area where the glass monitor with his old Robin suite would one day stand as a memorial and reminder. Tim however quickly found his way over to the large computer and looked it over.

“This is such an old model. I bet I could hack this thing in thirty minutes, an hour top” Red Robin bragged, which was almost strange to hear the otherwise quiet boy puff his chest out with such pride. Before anyone would say anything else the noise of a large engine filled the room. It as a sound they were all very familiar with. It didn’t take long before the Batmobile came rearing onto its platform and the top slide up, to allow the passengers to get out.

“Did you see me tonight?” a happy voice practically shouted and a young Robin jumped out of the car and ran around the front to the other side, where Batman was barely out of the vehicle.

“Oh no” Jason groaned and hid his face in his hands.

“I was like WHAM and then he was like BAM and then I went HIYA” a ten-year-old Jason explained while waving his arms around as he demonstrated.

“Yes, I saw” Bruce said and a tiny smile of fondness could be seen in the corner of his mouth, as he pushed the cowl back to reveal his face. The two walked through the cave, or rather Bruce walked while Jason danced around his legs telling him all about the exciting moves he had made out on patrol.

“Are we going out tomorrow? Can we? Please” Jason jumped up and down hopefully. Bruce just huffed amused and ruffled Jason’s hair.

“We’ll see. For now, it’s long past your bedtime” the billionaire instructed and unclasped Jason’s cape.

“Aww, but I’m not tired” Jason protested, but took off his cloves and handed them over to Bruce none the less.

“Um hmm” was all the response he got from Bruce as the man guided him towards the bathroom. “Now go take a shower… and wash your hair properly this time”

“Fine” Jason grumbled, but still stuck out his tongue playfully. When the sound of running water could be heard from the bathroom, Bruce moved over to the Batcomputer and started writing a report on their nightly activities.

“Who would have guessed you were once such a cutie pie” Dick awed as he draped himself over Jason’s shoulder’s and Clark tried to hide his smile behind his hand.

“If you don’t shut it Dick, I’ll end you” the rouge warned, but didn’t do much to remove the older male.

“Aw, you don’t mean that. Now we all know, that you are really just a teddy bear on the inside” Dick continued to mock heartwarmingly and squeezed Jason closer.

“Could you two be any more gross?” Damian asked with a look of utter disdain.

“You shut up too demon brat” Jason snapped, but still allowed Dick to hang over his shoulders.

“Soo, are we done here or…?” Tim inquired as he had mostly ignored them in favor of looking around at the memory where Bruce was still just typing away at the computer.

“God, I hope so” Jason barked annoyed and finally shook Dick off him, but he wasn’t lucky enough to have his way, as the bathroom door opened and a freshly showered Jason emerged already wearing his pajamas.

“Bruce, I’m done” Jason called as he ran across the cave and up next to the Batman.

“Good, now it’s off to bed” the elder said and turned to look at the young boy next to him who was pouting disappointedly.

“Why? How come you get to stay awake?”

“Because I’m an adult” Bruce answered with a smirk, only to chuckle when an irritated glare came from Jason.

“It’s not fair. I can stay up just as long, as you can, you know” Jason claimed and started climbing up onto Bruce’s lab. “I can do this too” the young boy insisted and once he settled down, he reached forward and started adding his own colorful description to the report.

“Apparently” Bruce agreed and the two feel into silence.

“There, all done” Jason declared his report finished with a yawn and a stretch before settled back against Bruce. The dark knight just hummed and continued where Jason had left off while the boy slowly started nodding off. It only took Bruce a few minutes to finish the rest of the report and ever so carefully he collected Jason into his arms, making sure the boy was as comfortable as possible, but the boy hardly even stirred, other than to lean against Bruce by tucking his head under the other’s chin. Bruce carefully tucked his cape around his precious cargo to protect him from the chilly air in the cave and headed up the stairs and into the mansion above. 

When Bruce disappeared with the young Jason they all turned to look at the second eldest, but he had moved away from the group and over to the computer where he seemed to read the report over. He read over his own childish and colorful phrases and explanations of what had happened on that first night so many years ago.

“You know…” Tim started so quietly, that Jason wouldn’t hold back a small jerk of surprise “…he still has that report. Through a fit when I mentioned deleting it along with some other useless information what was clogging up the Batcomputer. I spent the next two nights desperately trying to recover it, in the exact same condition, because he grounded me until I found it. I never really understood why… until now I guess”

“I don’t remember asking, replacement” Jason replied, but they all noticed that the insult lacked the usual sinister edge to it. It was said almost as an afterthought rather than a snarky or hurtful remark.

“I know, but now you know” Tim shrugged awkwardly and the two men stood side by side for a moment and looked over the childish remarks of how one robber had almost made a complete flip after a kick to the head by Batman.

“So where to now?” Jason growled after clearing his throat and turned away from the computer, but he couldn’t completely hide how his voice was a little mushy. No one dared comment on it as it was becoming abundantly clear that these memories were sensitive to all of them.

“I don’t know. I don’t see anything ready to lead us on” Dick replied and looked around the cave as he rubbed his neck thoughtfully. The ding sound of the elevator stopping in the cave made them all turn in time to see the doors open. Alfred was standing inside, stoic as ever, but then his eyes locked onto them and he simply pointed up towards the roof of the cave. On reflex they all looked up, but there was nothing to see. When they looked at the elevator again Alfred was no longer there.

“I guess we go up” Tim stated and carefully stepped into the elevator, afraid that it could suddenly disappear or that it wasn’t real, but nothing happened. The rest of the family followed and soon enough they could all leave the overly packed elevator in favor of stepping into one of the many drawing rooms of the manor. They all quickly spotted Bruce sitting in the windowsill. A wistful, but not to forget peaceful smile adored his face as he peaked through the almost drawn curtains. Clark was the first to venture closer in hopes of catching a glimpse of what had made Bruce look like that.

“Master Bruce?” Alfred called form the doorway, where he was holding a tray of afternoon tea.

“Hum?” Bruce acknowledge with a hum so soft it almost wasn’t audible, the smile never wavering for a moment and never taking his eyes off what was outside.

“If I may be so bold sir, whatever could have you in such high spirits?” the elderly asked as he poured the tea and brought a cup over to Bruce.

“Look” was all Bruce said and carefully pulled one of the curtains aside to reveal the gardens below.

“My, and here I thought I had seen it all” the butler remarked with a certain gentleness.

“I didn’t want to open the curtains too much just on case he saw me” Bruce explained, but let one side of the window remain free so that Alfred would see as well.

“There may be hope for the boy yet Master Bruce. Although I still must insist that rules be put in place for that dog” the butler gave a slight protest, before returning to the tray.

“No” Bruce just whispered and moved his head slightly in keep whatever he was looking at within view, but now what Alfred was gone the rest of the batfamily could gather around to see what the fuss was about. The window was open ever to slightly, so the sounds from outside could easily be heard from there.

“Come on Titus faster” Damian commanded as he ran around the yard holding a stick out to the side. A stick the Great Dane was undoubtedly trying to snatch from the young boy. At Damian’s order the dog backed loudly as he happily jumped next to his master. “If you are to assist farther, you must be trained properly” Damian continued as if the dog could understand him. While the boy was rather far away making it difficult to see his smile, his tone was much lighter and more playful than any of Damian’s brothers or Clark had ever heard.

“Never grow up Damian” Bruce whished quietly as the boy tumbled onto the ground with a laughter. The dog barked excitedly as he jumped around Damian playfully. The boy started laughing more fully as he tried to grab the dog from where he was, but the hound just jumped back and lowered his front legs to indicate play.

“Come on then” Damian exclaimed as he too got down on all fours and imitated the dog, who then went from excited to ecstatic and took off full speed, making abrupt turns and wagging his tail whenever Damian reached for him. Clark almost placed his hands on Bruce’s shoulders, wanting nothing more than for this to be real and to have sheared this moment with Bruce, while hoping that one day he could be granted the opportunity to see something like it.

“You can’t touch” Dick whispered in his ear as he pushed Clark’s hands back down. When Superman turned to look at the eldest of Bruce’s sons he saw the sadness of having to deny Clark, but the man of steel just smiled kindly.

“I know” he admitted and as he was about to return to watching Damian, he noticed that Dick only had eyes for Bruce and how peaceful the other looked when silently observing his son play with his dog. Clark decided that if he wouldn’t share this moment with Bruce, he could share it with Dick, and so he placed a comfortingly hand on Nightwing’s shoulder, something the other seemed to appreciate.

“Stop it. That is disgusting” Damian laughed and drew their attention once more. Titus had managed to topple the young boy over to lay in his back and was licking his face enthusiastically.

“Master Damian, are you out here?” Alfred’s voice called, surprising the boy. Since they all knew that Alfred had seen the boy from the window and knew the boy was there, the call had most likely been to Damian’s benefit, so that the butler couldn’t have found the boy sprawled on the grass. Sure enough Damian quickly got off the ground and straightened his clothes as best as he could. He quickly rubbed his face in his sleeve to clean himself as much as possible, before walking over to meet the man calling for him.

“Yes Pennyworth. What do you want?” Damian called back with as much snark and sass as always. He had returned to the person they all knew and loved, or found unbelievably frustrating most of the time.

“Lunch is prepared” Alfred simply stated and made no comment on the strangely wrinkled shirt or the dirt and grass juice on his pants, nor did he do anything to stop the still exited dog from following Damian inside and most likely into the kitchen.

“Are you all quite done watching my embracement?” Damian grumbled from behind the group. He was standing with his back turned and his arms crossed tight over his chest.

“There’s no need to feel embarrassed Damian” Clark tried to sooth the offended boy. “I think it’s nice to see that you can have fun, even if it’s just by yourself” he tried with a smile, but he boy only glared over his shoulder.

“What do you know about anything alien?” Damian almost yelled.

“Damian calm down” Dick stepped in and placed a hand on the younger’s shoulder, but the action was not welcomed as Damian ripped his shoulder loose and stomped over to the other side of the room.

“I showed weakness. It would have been bad enough if Pennyworth saw me. He could at least have been ordered to silence, but now you have seen me like that, but worst of all HE saw me” Damian shouted and pointed at the memory of Bruce, who was only now getting down from the windowsill, moved through the room and out the door, most likely to join in on lunch in the kitchen.

“So what? It’s not like he hasn’t seen the rest of us have fun” Dick reasoned, but Damian wasn’t having any of it. The rage on his face just seemed to grow stronger and stronger.

“I AM STRONGER THAN YOU. I AM NOT WEAK LIKE YOU. Unlike the rest of you I am of actual use to farther” Damian screamed as he gripped his hair in frustration.

“Damian” Clark called gently and walked over to the boy, where he carefully got now on one knee to be more on the same eyelevel as Damian. Once closer Clark also took notice of his rapid breath like he was fighting to get air into his lungs. Clark shifted nervously and cleared his throat.

“I know, I came into this family rather abruptly and it caused a lot of confusion for everyone, but one thing I do now is that Bruce has always worried for you”

“I will not let him down. Unlike the other’s” Damian snarled and gave Clark a hard shove on the shoulders on the hopes that it would bring the other out of balance, but the force ended up pushing Damian backwards instead of Clark.

“Damian…” Dick said in a reprimanding tone, but was cut off when Jason grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.

“No, Damian you don’t understand. He was never worried about you failing him. He was worried you would never know true happiness and joy, or laugh carefree. He feared that you would never get to be a child” Clark explained to the frustrated young man. Now that the boy was looking up, it became clear just how frustrated he was. His lower lip was being viciously held captive between his teeth. Every muscle in his face, as well as in his body was tensed to the point of snapping and his eyes were fogged over. Clearly the boy had no intension of ever letting them fall where they could all see it, but there was no hiding that they were there.

“If I’m not useful to him… than what good am I?” Damian finally asked, just barely above a whisper.

“Oh, Mini bat” Dick called softly, his own heartache for the boy clear in his voice.

“You’re worth can never be defined by your usefulness. You are so much more to him, because you’re his son” Clark reassured him and as much as he wanted to reach out and embrace Damian, he knew that the action would never be welcomed, so he restrained himself. Damian turned away from them and took a few calming breaths.

“There is nothing more for us to find here we should move on” he declared without looking at them.

“And just in time too it would seem” Tim said quietly and when they all turned to look at him for an explanation, Batman came swinging into the room. The man didn’t acknowledge any of them but he moved purposefully through the room and out the open door.

“Let’s move on then” Clark agreed and finally got off the floor.

The door lead them outside. And not just into a hall or even to the grounds surrounding the manor. No, the door lead them all the way to Metropolis. Batman was walking steadily forward, slightly further ahead of them.

“What could Batman possibly be doing here?” Tim questioned before running ahead of them all and up to Batman, but then slowed down. Clark was pretty sure that he was the only one that could hear the quiet oh of realization.

“What is it Tim?” Dick asked confused. Instead of answering Tim just pointed ahead, past Batman all the way to the center of the grass field they were currently walking on. Just past Batman the memorial for Superman’s death was towering over them, casting long shadows even in the dark of the night

“Another dead end” Batman grumbled as he hid a device away. From the quick glance Clark had gotten, it looked like some kind of tracker.

“Oh right” Clark mumbled and looked at the dark knight sadly. He didn’t think too much of this incident in all honesty. In the end, it had all turned out like many other crazy adventures, but he should have known that just the thought of losing someone would have imprinted itself in Bruce’s mind.

“I’m beginning to wonder if I might be wrong” Batman said with a somber tone while looking up at the towering memorial. “I’ve got some things to say. I should have said them when you were here. Despite our differences I have nothing, but respect for you. I hope you knew… know that. You showed me that justice didn’t always have to come from the darkness” Batman admitted and walked the last few steps up to the memorial so he could put his hand on the dark stone.

“He never told me he visited the memorial” Clark told the other and couldn’t help but feel just a little hurt. It would have been nice to know that the man he loved had cared.

“He never told anyone” Tim explained as he pulled his shoulders in a defensive manner. “And it wasn’t long after you returned that… you knew” Red Robin trailed off and Clark bit his lip feeling ashamed to have reminded him.

“Please, can you hear me? Am I getting through tonight? I know you haven’t taken him. I know he is out there somewhere. If you can hear me just… let me take his place somehow” Batman murmured aggrieved and sank to his knees. He leaned forward until his forehead rested against the cold stone. “You see he’s not just anyone. He’s my love” Bruce barely whispered the last part, but Clark heard and maybe the others did as well, but then they didn’t show any sign of it.

“Bruce please. Let this memory go when you wake up. I’m right here and I’m always going to be right here” Superman pleaded as he kneeled next to Batman, and forced himself to not try to embrace the memory. Suddenly an explosion was heard from behind them. Batman was quickly on his feet.

“What did you always call it Clark? The never-ending battle?” Batman said to the memorial before quickly heading off to see what had happened

“Clark there is nothing we can do to change this memory. All we can do is continue our search for the real Bruce and hope that he one day can leave some of this hurt behind” Dick tried to comfort as he came up behind the other man and placed a hand on his shoulder, much like Clark had done for him.

“I know” he admitted as he continued to look after the dark knight.

“How much more of this do you think we can take?” Tim asked Clark when the boy came up on his other side. When Clark turned to him, he saw that Tim was truly worried.

“I don’t know, but I have to believe that he is in here somewhere and that there is a purpose to all this” Clark admitted sadly.

“Over there” Damian broke in with a flat tone. They all turned exhausted to see a Bruce Wayne standing next to the nearest building, holding a large bundle tight to his body. He stood quietly and observed it for a moment. Then it started moving and Bruce hoisted it higher and started phasing the sidewalk.

“Looks like we have a direction” Jason sighed and as a group they headed over to the man who, now that they were closer, looked beyond exhausted. His eyes were mat and dead. His hair was hanging lifeless over his forehead and into his eyes. His skin was a sickly ash gray color and his shoulders were hunched as if the entire world was resting on them. The closer they got the more Bruce started walking away and it wasn’t long before Bruce stopped in front of a seemingly random door. After hoisting the bundle up again, he could let go with one hand and open the door.

Once inside they all realized that they were back at the mansion. This time they were in Tim’s room. Clark took a deep breath and realized that they all would have to brace themselves for what was coming now. If Tim was suddenly inching closer and closer to him Clark didn’t mention it.

“It’ll be alright” Bruce whispered over and over to the bundle in his arms as he continued to phase the room like a new parent trying to sooth a crying baby. Clark reached out next to him without looking away and placed an arm around Tim’s shoulder’s. Tim didn’t resist the gesture and no one commented on it. “I have you. It’ll all go away now” Bruce continued his mantra and they were all starting to wonder if he really was talking to the bundle or to himself.

“Can’t we just skip past this memory?” Tim whispered desperately as Bruce ever so gently placed his precious bundle on the bed and proceeded to unwrapping it slightly while also tucking it into bed. When Bruce pulled back the bundle came alive. Wiggling and squirming while quiet whimpering noises escaped.

“Shhh easy Tim. You’re safe. Nothing is going to happen to you, I promise” Bruce begged and looked close to tears himself. “Please just be still” Bruce continued to plead and took hold of the hand that had managed to escape the confines of the sheets and blankets. Bruce looked at the young boy on the bed, clearly at a loss of how to get him to sleep peacefully. The real Tim turned away from the scene by turning into Clark’s side and it was only because Clark had an arm around Tim that he felt the lone sob that ran through his body.

“Is it over?” Tim whispered and Clark just squeezed his shoulder as a comfort. He clearly remembered how he could watch over Bruce as he tried to get him son back from the brink. Even when he was in Metropolis. No matter if it was the middle of the day or in the dead of the night, if he was hopelessly behind on a deadline or if he had been sleeping. Whenever Bruce started phasing with Tim he would tune in on them. Listen to what was happening, sometimes he could even fly over and just watch over them as Bruce wandered the house. The billionaire never mentioned the nights he hovered around the house, nor did he ever acknowledge Clark when he was there, but Clark knew that Bruce knew. For a man do dedicated to defending his private life there was no way that the man didn’t know Clark was coming the moment he crossed onto Gotham city limits.

“Can you hear me?” Bruce started the prayer as he held Tim’s hand between his own, kneeling by the bedside. Without even thinking about it Clark soundlessly formed the words after Bruce. It had become a habit. He would be hammering on his keyboard to meet a deadline, stop instantly. He could be so tuned in on Bruce he would sit so still he could have been a statue. Hands folding in front of his face, eyes lowered, forehead to his gathered hand and whisper ever so quietly after Bruce. “Am I getting through tonight? There is this boy that needs your help. Can you see him? Can you make him feel alright? If you can hear me, let me take his place somehow. Please I dream of the boy he’d like to be, who he can be. I try to be strong and see him through this, but I’m so tired. I hope you can understand that and who he needs right now is you. He’s so tires and he’s scared, please let him know that you’re there. See he’s not just anyone. He’s my son” Bruce sniffled and opened his hands enough to kiss the tiny one he kept inside. He pressed his lips hard against it for a moment before pulling back and closing his hands once more, shielding Tim’s from the world around them.

“How often would he do this?” Jason whispered quietly to Dick, who quickly cleared his throat and tried to discretely whip a tear from his eye, but before he could answer Clark broke in.

“Every night” Clark answered somberly without taking his eyes off Bruce. “He spent countless hours walking up and down the hallways. Exhausted to the point of passing out, but pushed through it every night”

“I hardly even remember it” Tim admitted after clearing his throat. The young Robin moved away from Clark to stand on his own once more.

“Tim it’s alright if…” Clark started, but was cut off by the young man in question.

“I’m fine” came a firm reply. Tim looked at Bruce for a moment before turning to Clark and to the reporters surprise he found anger on his face. “If he was so determined to help me, then why did he send me away? I guess he finally grew tired of having me as a burden. I was too much of an embracement to have succumbed to the Joker, that he couldn’t bear to look at me anymore. That’s why, isn’t it?” Tim accused angrily as tears started gathering on his eyes once more, as his voice rose more and more towards a shout, but not quite reaching it.

“Oh no, no, no, no, Tim that’s not it. That isn’t it at all” Clark assured him as he grabbed the Red Robin’s shoulders firmly, but not aggressively.

“Then why? Why did he stop caring?”

“He cared for nothing else. All he would ever do was look after you, care for you, worry about you. I’m embarrassed to say that a lot of people were giving up, even members if the League, myself included. I once told him that he had to realize that you might not come back completely, and he almost ribbed my throat out, right there in the parlor”

“And it would have served you right alien” Damian bit out and Clark wasn’t quite sure if was a show of brotherly affection, by jumping to Tim’s defense or if Damian was just showing his dislike of him and would have preferred to see him suffer at the hands of the boys farther.

“Enough of this nonsense from you” Dick remarked as he placed his hands at his hips in exasperation, but Damian just responded with his annoyed tisk.

“Anyway, Bruce screamed at me that if the rest of his life would be phasing the halls with you in his arms then that was what he could do. He became even more closed off, responded to fewer and fewer calls and he because even stricter in his no-meta-humans-in-my-city policy. I was barely allowed close to the manor let alone within a few yards of you” Clark continued. Tim looked thoughtful for a moment before turning to Dick.

“It’s true. Tim, you need to know that at the time Bruce and I were having a fall out and we barely talked, but he called me, asking for my help in looking after Gotham. I know I should have been around more. I’m sorry” Dick pleaded and Tim just looked at the floor with a small nod of acceptance.

“But then there came a point where you started to show so much progress that you started becoming aware of your surroundings. You were still restless at night, but during your waking hours you started responding. You can’t fathom the joy and relief that washed over everyone at the news. The entire League practically rushed over to see you in hopes that you could finally see us and recognize us, but it ended in a horror show. The moment Bruce carried out into the sitting room and you caught sight of us…” Clark stopped as he had to shake off the intensity of the memory. “…you started screaming and not just scared or surprised yelling. I mean blood curdling, horrified screaming. You forced yourself out of Bruce’s hold and whenever any of us dared to get close to you to calm you down you lashed out ferociously and the screaming, good god the screaming” Clark stopped talking for a moment as the memory of that day overwhelmed him.

“So I collapsed, and he didn’t want to bother with me anymore?” Tim asked defensively as he shrugged his shoulders and arms out in annoyance.

“I remember Bruce and I got eye contact and all I could see was the fiercest thunderstorm I have ever seen” Clark continued as if Tim hadn’t said anything. “And then he pounced on us like he would have any supervillain. Flash was lucky to have the super speed and was out of there faster than the rest of us. We all got out as fast as we would, but we were all sporting bruises the next day”

“What does any of this have to do with him sending me away then?” Tim demanded as frustration started to take over his features.

“You got better Tim. After that disaster, Bruce wouldn’t let anyone near city limits. He prowled around the manor, and on rear occasion the city, like a mother bear ready to finish off anything he deemed a threat to you. And you got better and better every day, until the day you recognized Bruce and I think I would have been able to hear you loud and clear in Metropolis with half of my super hearing. It broke him when you couldn’t bear to be near him. He would still phase you up and down the floor at night while you slept, but in the day time he couldn’t get near you. In a last attempt to calm you down he put on his Batsuite in the hopes that you would realize that you were out of harm’s way, but it made everything so much worse. You were regressing Tim. You were shutting down and suddenly everything was a trigger, Bruce, that manor, even Alfred was suddenly a threat. He wouldn’t bear the thought of being the source of your pain like that, so he considered every kind of treatment that could help you and when he finally felt like he found something that had a chance of bringing you back he sent you away, in the hopes that you would find it in you to keep fighting” Clark finished.

“But I needed him” Tim said with a small hiccup in his voice.

“I know Tim, and he could have wanted nothing more than to be there for you himself, but he had to do what was best for you in the long run. He sent you off knowing that, if that was as well as you were ever going to get, he might never see you again, since he could cause you to break down, just from the sight of him. I sat with him that night you know. He cried himself to sleep, just too hurt and exhausted to do anything to hide it anymore, and all I could do was just sit there and hold him. Watch as he crumbled to pieces” Clark finished and looked over at the bed but neither Bruce nor the young Tim was anywhere to be seen.

“Looks like it’s finally over” Jason muttered more to himself than to anyone in particular, but they all quietly agreed. Tim took a few deeps breaths and quickly rubbed his face to make sure that there were no tears in his eyes.

“Let’s move on then” Red Robin suggested after clearing his throat. He was rolling his shoulders and fidgeting clearing, uncomfortable with the vulnerability he had shown and was forcing his mind back in the game. A cold gust of wind washed over them all and made them shiver. The balcony door was now open, and as the wind moved inside it made the curtains move ever so gently. They all however quickly locked onto Batman standing on the railing of the balcony, his back to them, looking out over the darkness beyond the memory. They stood for a moment and just looked at the dark knight, waiting for him to do something, but he just remained where he was.

“Let us continue on then if we are done here” Damian finally spoke up and took point when the group moved forward. Just as they did Batman took a step forward, but instead of falling he simply faded into blackness, shortly followed by his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think. It helps me get better and it's inspiring to hear your thoughts :-)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope this new chapter can help kill just 10 min. of boring quarantine xD unfortunately for me I can still work form home so I can't necessarily spend more time on my writing then normal.

Batman ran through the darkness that surrounded them, his heavy breathing echoing around them, as Clark and the boys tried to keep up with the memory. Slowly the rest of the memory started coming into focus. The snow crunched under their feet and their breath could be seen every time they exhaled. A dark barren land surrounded them with nothing in sight for miles only lit up by fires atop a rise. Thick smoke wafted through the air. Clark, Tim, Jason, Dick and Damian all started slowing down and came to a stop when they reached the edge of what had been a warehouse no more than a few seconds ago. Batman continued forward, straight through the rubble and ashes. He dropped to his knees and started digging through the ruins. After moving a beam and some dirt aside he too came to a stop.

“No” came a broken whisper. Batman then gently collected something in his arms before standing up. From his place behind Batman Clark would see the feet dangling in the freezing air and on the other side of Batman the young man’s head was tipped lifelessly back one arm awkwardly out to the side. “Jason” Batman called heartbroken and stood for a moment before finally turning and walking back towards them.

“Huh boy, another one” Jason huffed as he stepped aside to let the memory pass untouched. Clark looked at the young man and was surprised at how calm he was. It couldn’t be easy to see his own dead body like this. At least Clark’s body had been somewhere else and Tim was at least alive, but to see once own lifeless body be carried by the man that was almost like a farther to him had to be devastating. It dawned on Clark just how much hurt he wanted to take from this family, how much he wanted to soothe their pain, if only they weren’t all so determined to never show weakness or vulnerability.

“It’s gonna be alright. We’ll get through this one as well” Clark said as much to himself as to the others.

“Yeah right, cause witnessing your own corpse being carried around is something you just shake off” Jason snarled and for some reason it brought a sense of relief to Clark. It meant that Jason did care and that despite it being an awful memory, he was still capable of feeling genuine emotions of sadness and not just anger, but he wasn’t naïve enough to assume that anger wasn’t there. Meanwhile Batman had moved past the gathered family, but only took another step or two before collapsing and the ground.

“Jason” Bruce sobbed and cradled the body close to him. He let go of Jason’s legs, so that he could hoist Jason into a more comfortable position against his chest. With his now free hand he gently grabbed the back of Jason’s head and tipped it to rest against his shoulder and neck. The hand moving around to hold the side of the face, thumb gently caressing the cheek. “Jason come back, please. We can figure everything out back in Gotham, just please come back home” Bruce whisper-talked into Jason’s hair, before moving to press his forehead against it while taking a few heaving breath. The comment made everyone turn to Jason for an explanation.

“We weren’t on the best of terms alright? He thought I was too hard on criminals” Jason muttered the last part and crossed his arms over his chest defensively. He looked down for a moment before snapping his head back up. “What’s it to you anyway?” came an offended comment and everyone wisely chose not to answer and instead just moved closer to Batman and the recently deceased Jason.

“Why? Why him? Please I’ll do anything” Bruce called a little louder before falling silent once more. Then a sob wrecked his entire body, before Batman lifted his head towards the heavens. “WHY HIM?” Batman screamed at the dark sky that offered no answer or comfort. “Bring him back, take me. I can’t lose him. You can’t take him. I need him” Batman continued to shout at the heavens that remained as quiet as ever. Bruce then turned his attention back to the cold body in his arms. “I need you Jason. You’ve come so far and done incredible things and overcome every obstacle and challenge ever placed in front of you. I’ve seen you do things nothing short of a miracle” Bruce carefully pushed his cowl back to reveal his face, before he ever so carefully and tenderly removed the little domino mask that protected Jason’s identity, just so that Bruce could finally look at his son properly.

“How much longer is this memory going to go on?” Jason grumbled as he turned away from the scene. Clark had seen how pale Jason had been before the young man had turned his back completely and he rapid heartbeat was like thunder in Clark’s sensitive ears. The reporter abandoned his place next to the grieving Bruce for a moment to walk over to Jason.

“Bruce didn’t ever stop grieving your death Jason. Not when Tim arrived at the manor and I honestly don’t think he has stopped to this day” Clark informed him and placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder hoping the gesture would be welcomed.

“I don’t care about that. I just want to find the old man so we can get out of here already” Jason replied and to turn away from Clark he was forced to turn back to the memory, where Bruce was still cradling Jason to his chest. He was now letting the tips of his fingers ghost over Jason’s forehead, gently moving any stray bangs aside only for them to fall back into place once the fingers moved past. Bruce let his fingers travel down Jason’s nose and over his lips without disturbing them. Bruce continued his gently caressing of Jason’s face as if trying to memories every little detail. Then Bruce did something none of them expected. He leaned down and tenderly kissed Jason’s forehead, the lips barely pressing against the cold skin, as if too much pressure would make the young man break like the finest porcelain doll.

“Please just one more miracle Jason” Bruce mumbled against Jason’s forehead, his lips barely moving against the pale skin, before moving further down to Jason’s ear and in an even gentler and far more fragile voice continued his whispering. “Somehow, I don’t know how, but just please stop begin dead Jason. That’s all I ever want from you” Bruce remained hunched over the corpse of his partner for a few moments, waiting for the miracle to happen, but when it became clear that nothing was going to change what had happened, strong sobs wrecked Bruce’s body and the stoic man slowly let his grief consume him.

“Just stop already. Can’t you see I’m gone? You should have just let me remain that way” Jason yelled at the memory and a rouge tear ran down his face. He quickly whipped it away as he sank to his knees in front of his farther and his own dead body with an exhausted expression. “Just let me go already” Jason whispered and Clark chose to sit down next to the former Robin. He didn’t touch the young man, didn’t say anything, he just sat down and short after Dick did the same and sat down on Jason’s other side.

“Can you hear me? Am I getting through tonight? See there is a boy that needs your help. Please don’t take him from me. Can you see him? Can you make him feel alright? If you can hear me let me take his place somehow. What will I be living without him here? Let him grow old. If you can hear me at all please listen to my last plead. If you must take him please don’t leave him. Let him know that you are there. Let him know that you are there, that you care… that I care. You see he’s not just anyone he’s my son… he’s my son” Bruce trailed off, gently rocking Jason back and forth. Slowly the memory started fading and the four Robins and Clark were left in the ruins of the former warehouse.

“Finally” Jason said relived and slowly got back in his feet. He was pale and once up he stumbled a little, a hand flew up to his head, where it quickly started massaging one temple. No one said anything and just stood awkwardly for a while wondering where they were supposed to head to now. They didn’t have to wait long before a spotlight lit up the dark sky and the batsymbol was plastered over the clouds. Behind them the edge of a forest came into view and just before the thicket the familiar figure of commissioner Gordon could be seen. His hands were placed on his hips as he looked at them expectantly.

“Let us move on” Damian called as they all slowly started walking towards the signal. Clark took the time to look at the young boys around him. They were all so pale looking, even Damian seemed weighed down. The exhaustion was clear on all their faces and Clark stated to wonder if they even had the strength to see this through. Tim might have been right in questioning how much more of this they could take. The somber mood remained intact as they headed into the woods. Gordon was long gone and now they just followed the light from the projector that broke through the trees. As they came closer and closer the light grew brighter and brighter until it became blinding. They continued forward regardless and Clark only stopped walking when someone grabbed his collar at the neck and yanked him backwards.

“Watch out” Dick called out and when Clark found his feet once more, Dick released his hold on Superman.

“We are back in Gotham” Damian observed as he looked around the gloomy memory. It was raining heavily and yet smog and smoke still seemed to be hinging heavy on the air. It was nighttime and despite all her flaws Gotham was a beautiful city once light up. They were standing on the roof of the police station. Gordon was back and was now standing next to the projector with an umbrella, looking out into the night, clearly waiting for the dark knight to respond to his summon.

“Come one Batman. Where are you?” Gordon called out as he stepped up to the edge of the roof hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive bat.

“That seems to be the problem commissioner?” Batman called form behind them and they all turned surprised, but only Gordon gave a sound that indicated his surprise. Batman was already standing next to the projector and turned it off now that he was there.

“Batman, are you ever going to just come greet me face to face instead of scaring the life out of me?” the elderly complained. Batman just hummed in a tone that was neither confirming nor denying the request. “What kept you anyway? You don’t usually take this long resending to my call”

“I had to make a small detour before heading over” Batman informed flatly.

“Sending your little partner off to bed I hope” Gordon commented as he stepped closer to the shadowy figure. When Batman did what everyone assumed as a lifted eyebrow, Gordon elaborated. “I noticed that he wasn’t with you and usually shows himself short after you”

“Then I’ll have to disappoint you, but you were right in assuming the detour was for Robins’ sake” Batman explained and pushed half of his cape to the side to reveal a shivering Dick Grayson standing under Batman’s cape. The young boy looked pale as he stood plastered to Batman’s side, grabbing his own arms in an attempt to stay warm while using Barman for body heat and his cape as protection form the chilling rain and wind.

“Jesus Batman send the poor guy home. He’ll end up sick like that” Gordon scolded.

“N-no way a-am I s-st-staying back. I-I can do this. I d-don’t n-n-need to be b-b-bay-be-ed” Dick protested with a stubborn glare, but the cracking of his voice did little to convince the police officer, who turned to Batman with a full-on glare.

“Send the boy home” Gordon growled.

“Mind your o-own business” Dick snapped and was about to say something else when he was cut off by a sneeze.

“Robin do not address the commissioner that way” Batman reprimanded and let his arm fall on Dick’s shoulder, covering the boy as much as he could while still being visible. “And you are going back home as soon as I am done here”

“Y-you c-can’t be s-se-serious. I want to g-go with you” Dick demanded, but Batman wasn’t paying him any more attention as he was turning it to the commissioner.

“What do you need me for?” Batman asked and Gordon hesitantly withdrew a casefile from under his jacket after one last skeptical look at the young Robin who was less than pleased to be ignored.

“It nothing too serious, but a gang of robbers has been hitting several jewelry stores. They are considered armed and dangerous, but luckily no one has been hurt…yet” Gordon finished concerned while batman looked through the casefile as fast as he could before it got soaked.

“I’ll see what I can dig up” Batman confirmed and handed the folder back to the commissioner.

“You don’t want to take this with you” Gordon asked confused as he accepted the folder.

“I have what I need” Batman simply stated as if it was obvious. Batman then turned to the still punting Dick Grayson. “Come along now Robin. It’s time for us to get going”

“S-sure Batman” the young boy stammered. Batman just gave a hum before turning on his heel and walked over to the edge of the building.

“Brrr” Robin exclaimed as the rainwater hit him once more, and he did everything he could to stop a shiver from going down his entire body, but he failed miserably. Gordon was just about to open his mouth to voice his disapproval once more, but Robin just turned around and quickly jogged over to Batman just as the adult fired his grappling hook.

“Wh-where are we going now?” Robin sniffled as he fumbled with his own grappling hook, but his hands were shaking so badly he could barely hold the device. Let alone fire a straight line.

“We are going home” Batman stated firmly. With one hand still grabbing the handle of his grappling hook he bended down and with just one arms he hoisted the shivering boy onto his hip.

“B-But what a-about patrol?” Robin asked, but didn’t resist begin carried. Instead he wrapped his arms around Batman’s neck.

“I need to look into this case and you need a warm bath before going to bed” Batman argued back before turning to look at Gordon one last time. “Commissioner” the superhero said with a nod witch the policeman returned and with that Batman jumped off the building. Clark and the boys, along with Gordon ran to the edge of the building just in time to see Batman hoist himself and Dick into the Batmobile that was parked in the ally below and soon after the car roared to life and took off into the night.

“Ha, I always knew you are a whiner when it comes to the cold” Jason remarked as he looked after the car.

“Oh, shut up. At least I didn’t retell stories using sound effects” Dick shot back with a pout.

“I don’t know Dick I’ve seen plenty of reports written by you as well” Tim broke in with an amused grin.

“Wha? How? Where did you get them?” Dick asked horrified.

“Please, despite taking after bats as much as he can Bruce is a hoarder of things and especially information. I would recon that there is a Dick Grayson report for ever other Bruce Wayne report of the first year or so” Tim informed much to Jason’s amusement and Dick’s shame.

“Oh, I am so reading those when we get back” Jason barked out in laughter.

“Please you are all pathetic, if that is all it takes to either amuse you or bring you down in shame” Damian shot out, but then looked down and away. “And you Tim be of some use and clear out trash the next time you find it taking up useful space, much like yourself” Damien then continued making the mood go form playful to outright hurtful

“Oh, is that right? At least I’m not deluded enough to think that slob monster could be useful on a mission” Tim yelled, anger twisting his face into a snarl.

“At least I haven’t stooped so low as to break for the Joker” Damian yelled back and the gasp the escaped everyone was followed by a cry of rage, a smack and then a thump when Damian tumbled to the ground after being punched by Tim. The elder of the two stood over the blood son panting heavily. Silence and a tension that one could cut with a butter knife followed.

“Maybe” Tim said after a while. His breathing was more under control, but he was still clenching his fists. Damian had gotten into a sitting position, but wasn’t looking up at Tim instead he was looking somewhere to the side of Tim’s foot, while rubbing in cheek in a testing manner. “But at least my hands are still clean… Blood son” Tim stressed the word blood and it made Damian tisk in annoyance and turn his head to the side completely.

“Enough, both of you” Clark finally dared to break in.

“Stay out of this alien” Damian snapped and finally pulled himself off the ground.

“No, not this time. What you two said to each other was way more than just teasing and bantering like that was happening before and you owe each other an apology” Clark said firmly, determined to put his foot down on this matter. Both boys looked horrified at Clark then at each other where horror quickly turned to fuming anger and with a huff they both turned away from the other.

“Nice try Superman” Jason snorted with a certain level of amusement behind it.

“Don’t aim so high Superman. Baby steps… baby steps” Dick also sounded slightly amused at first but then it faded into something that sounded slightly exasperated. Just as Clark opened his mouth to insist in the apology he was interrupted.

“ATCHOOO” a loud sneeze was heard behind them.

“Looks like you did catch that cold after all” Bruce’s voice followed and as the Robins and Superman turned around they found themselves back at the manor and inside one of the living rooms.

“No, no I’m fine. It was just a sneeze” a young Tim protested as he sat curled up in the corner of the sofa. A blanket was wrapped tight around his entire body. Bruce was standing behind the couch with his arms folded and resting on the back of the furniture. The denial made a smile ghost over Bruce’s lips, as the stuffed nose made Tim’s voice sound strange, not to mention the redness of his face betrayed him.

“You don’t have to hide it” Bruce tried to reassure his young ward as he stepped around the couch to sit down next to Tim. Bruce took notice of the piles of papers on the coffee table and reached out to grab a paper form the top of a pile.

“No, no don’t…” Tim protested, but it was too late Bruce had already seen what was on the paper and now he was turning to look disapprovingly at Tim.

“I told you to stop working and get some rest” Bruce said exasperated.

“No, you said to stop what I was doing in the batcave because it was chilly down there” Tim corrected.

“Tim, _stop what you are doing and get some rest, it’s too chilly down here,_ includes stop working altogether” Bruce countered, with a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. As he playfully tapped Tim over the head with the papers in his hand, but since they weren’t even rolled up they just formed round Tim’s head when they made contact.

“But there is too much to….to…. ACHOO… do” Tim ended flatly after the sneeze. He sniffled loudly and tried to take a deep breath, but with his nose so stuffed he had to breath in through his mouth instead.

“There will always be work to do Tim. It’s alright to take care of yourself. Sometimes you just get sick. It’s important that you rest and don’t make it worse by overworking yourself” Bruce tried to sooth the young boy’s workaholic tendencies and threw the papers back in top of its pile.

“Spoken by a man who ran around Gotham in a blizzard while battling pneumonia” Alfred commented in his usual dry tone as he entered the living room with a tray. Bruce sent his butler an annoyed glare and his lips pursed in a small pout, while a light annoyed growl was heard. Jason gave a laugh he tried to conceal, turning it into a snorted chuckle, Dick’s hand went straight to his mouth to hide his smile and the young Tim on the sofa gave a lighthearted laugh while his older counterpart gave a short laugh of satisfaction.

“Not now Alfred” Bruce slowly bit out in annoyance, as the butler sat the tray down and started purring them both a cup of tea.

“You wouldn’t have a cup of coffee instead, would you Alfred?” Tim asked hopefully as he took the offered cup with a certain degree of hesitation, after digging his arms free from the blanket.

“I’m afraid not master Tim. The chamomile tea however will do your throat so good” Alfred insisted, before handing the next cup to Bruce. Tim looked at the hot drink and wrinkled his nose slightly.

“Trust me on this one; the faster you drink it, the faster it will be over and the faster he will stop hounding you” Bruce fake whispered to the younger before taking a sip himself. His entire face scrunched up at the taste, but he swallowed it none the less.

“How it pleases me to know my hard work to keep you healthy is appreciated master Bruce” Alfred remarked just as dry as before, but he didn’t look offended in the slightest, granted after living with the man for so many years all the Robins knew that it would take much more than that to offend the man.

“Alright fine” Tim finally gave in and took a sip. A disgusted sound came from the boy the second the tea hit his taste buds, but he pushed through it and swallowed it none the less.

“Ata boy” Bruce praised and patted the sick boy on the back as best as he could.

“Urgh it’s disgusting” Tim complained miserably.

“Indeed. Now if you’ll excuse me I’ll start preparing for tonight’s dinner. I believe some chicken soup would do you both some good” Alfred excused himself and swiftly left the room.

“I bet he must love to torture us” Tim grumbled from his seat in the sofa as he forced another sip down.

“Are you kidding? Of course, he does” Bruce said humorously. “It’s the one time he gets to decide anything definitively”

“But aren’t you his boss?” Tim asked confused.

“Of course I am, but I’m not crazy” the billionaire commented still with his arms slung over the back of the couch and around Tim as best as he could. Tim was about to ask what he meant, but was stopped by several violent sneezes. “Bless you” Bruce smiled and move his hand from the back of the couch and tangled it in Tim’s hair and ruffled the already messy hair.

“And you don’t think dressing like a bat is crazy?” Tim wheezed after catching his breath.

“Maybe, but trying to go against Alfred is something I only dared do that one time, trust me. After that I decided to just roll over whenever I get sick” Bruce continued and went from ruffling Tim’s hair to digging his fingers into the young boy’s scalp, massaging his head. A satisfied hum of relief escaped Tim and his eye slowly closed.

“What did he do?” Tim asked sluggishly as his entire upper body was starting to rock to the movement of the massage. Bruce chuckled amused, never stopping his massage.

“The short story would be that you should never mess with the person that makes all your meals” Bruce simply said and Tim gave an agreeing hum, but it was unclear if he had actually heard the answer to his question or if he was just responding to Bruce’s voice. It didn’t take long before Tim started tilting toward the relieving touch and Tim’s head soon found rest on Bruce’s shoulder.

“I would have liked to see that” Tim mumbled barely audible.

“Oh, I don’t doubt it” Bruce chuckled as he moved his hand form Tim’s head to his neck and continued his massage. A comfortable silence settled over them for a while and Bruce continued to comfort the young boy. After a while Tim’s breath became deeper and slower. “Hey, you still with me Tim?” Bruce asked quietly with a tender smile on his lips.

“Hmmmm” Tim responded, causing a laugh to escape the dark crusader.

“Come on little bird, dinner won’t be for a few hours. Time to find your nest” Bruce declared and got up.

“No, I can do it… just need a moment” Tim mumbled as Bruce started gathering Tim in his arms.

“Do what?” Bruce laughed. Tim still hadn’t opened his eyes and was not responding to being moved.

“Was last seen near the west side…” Tim continued talking, but it became incomprehensible and just turned to quiet muttering.

“You work too hard Tim. You don’t need to prove yourself to me” Bruce reassured the young boy, as he walked through the manor towards Tim’s room. He didn’t get an answer, and the billionaire didn’t expect to get one. Once in front of the right door he awkwardly opened the door with his elbow and pushed the door open with his hip. Ever so carefully Bruce lowered the boy into his bed and started tucking the sick child in, making sure that he wouldn’t get cold while he slept.

“Don’t leave without me” Tim’s voice broke through the fevered mumblings. His exhausted eyes just barely opened to look at Bruce, who wasted no time in kneeling down next to the bed and ran a hand over Tim’s forehead brushing the sweaty bangs aside.

“Don’t worry. I won’t” Bruce reassured him.

“Thank you” Tim yawned and before long he drifted off once more. Bruce made sure that Tim was comfortably tucked in before getting off the floor, but before he turned around to leave he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against Tim’s sweaty forehead.

“Get well soon Tim” Bruce whispered before straightening and walking away from the sleeping boy.

“I don’t remember that” the elder Tim said surprised as Bruce walked towards them as they had gathered in the doorway.

“Something tells me that much of that Bruce holds most dear are things no one else knows about” Clark said and there was a certain degree of sadness behind it.

“The less weakness he shows the better” Damian commented and for once Clark felt like he couldn’t argue against it, as there was no doubt that Bruce was aware that his enemies would use any sign of weakness against him.

“Watch out here he comes” Dick warned tiredly and they all made sure to leave the memory plenty of room as Bruce re-entered the hallway and started walking down the dark corridor. Then he stopped and turned to look over his shoulder. With a simple head tilt he told them to follow.

“Well guess we are not done yet” Jason said with a sigh and pushed to the front of the group. Cark followed, but he could feel how tired his legs were getting. He felt like he had been walking for hours and hours on end, but even then, he shouldn’t have felt like this. He decided to blame it on the fact that they must have been here for hours in real time and that meant he had gone without sunlight for a long time as well. When Clark focused forward again he noticed how hunched over Jason was walking as if walking straight was too difficult. To his left Tim as practically dragging his feet on the ground, slightly alarmed he looked behind him and quickly took notice of Dick’s pale complexion and the way Damian was rubbing one of his eyes about every five second.

“You don’t look so good Clark. Is everything alright?” Tim asked next to him, but before he could answer Jason called from up front.

“Are you guy’s coming or what?”

“Yeah, yeah we’re coming alright” Tim called back, with effort he straightened and walked faster to catch up to the second Robin. Clark decided to push any concerning thoughts aside it was probably just their physical bodies getting tired, besides if something was wrong J’onn would have said something.

As they walked down the dark hallway Clark noticed that Bruce started to change. His clothes were one ting but his face became more tried to look at. His hair lost a bit of shine and dare he say it looked thinner for every step they took. Bruce was aging right before their very eyes, not by much in all honesty and it wasn’t like he was looking old, but it was clear that this Bruce was much closer to the age if the real Bruce Wayne than any other memory they had come across so far.

“Do you guy’s think that we might finally be getting close to Bruce?” Tim asked as they continued down the seemingly endless hallway.

“Let’s hope so” Damian commented somewhere in the back of the group.

“Why do you say that mini bat?” Dick asked surprised.

“Look at us. We are hardly looking as well as we did when we started this search” the youngest explained and gestured around the group and Clark felt that uncomfortable feeling rise once more. Was there really something to this? There had to be, if he wasn’t the only one noticing the change in the group.

“Who knows what’s happening. We might just have been in here longer than we might think. Time doesn’t exactly work the same way within the mind as it does in the real world” Tim countered flatly as if he couldn’t care less.

“Will you guys focus” Jason snapped and the others finally noticed that Bruce had stopped in form of the door to his own bedroom. His shoulders were slumped and a large bruise was covering almost half of his face. Two semi-faded cuts emphasized the intensity of a battle he must have relatively recently been in. When Bruce opened the door to the bedroom and walked in he was limping slightly on one leg. The batclan followed Bruce onside where the memory quickly found its way to the bed and sat down for a moment.

“Where have you wondered off to Damian?” Bruce whispered as he looked out the window and seemed to just take in the night sky before looking back at the still open door like it offended him by not closing on its own.

“Fantastic. Another one” Damian grumbled sarcastically while his farther got up and walked back across the room. He quickly shot the door, but let his hand rest of the wood for a moment.

“Relax it’ll be over soon enough, I’m sure” Dick reassured him, but they all knew that there was no guarantee for what they would be in for this time.

“Hey, check this out” Jason called quietly. When the family turned to him he was standing next to a dresser across from the bed. It was a dark wooden color and looked like it was old even by the mansions standard.

“What is it?” Tim asked curiously and walked over to see what Jason had found. Clark walked over as well, knowing fully well what Red Hood has found. Clark recalled an incident early on in their relationship where things had turned quite dramatic when Bruce had returned late one evening to find Clark asleep on the bedside closest to the dresser. The billionaire wasted no time in rudely removing Clark form the bed and proceeded to lecture him in that this side was his and if Clark ever took it again he could go find a sofa to sleep on instead.

“It’s us” Tim surprised voice brought Clark back to the situation at hand.

“Really?” Dick sounded skeptical and came over to see for himself. Picture frames were stacked tight on the dresser, leaving almost no room for anything else. There were pictures of all the boys, both independent pictures, group photographs and all kinds of combinations of the boys, with few of them having Barbara in there somewhere.

“Hey look. That much have been shortly after you arrived Damian” Dick said excitedly and pointed at one of the front pictures. It was of Bruce and Clark. The two men was smiling at the camera Clark’s arm over Bruce’s shoulders and Bruce’s arm around Clark’s waist. Damian was standing to Bruce’s other side and slightly in front of him. Bruce’s free hand on his shoulder, arms crossed and a glare firmly in place.

“Whatever” Damian snapped and let his eyes glide over the front pictures.

“WATCH OUT” Jason suddenly yelled and they all jumped back just as Bruce walked over to the dresser. They had been so occupied with the pictures that they hadn’t noticed Bruce leaving the door and coming over to them. Ever so carefully they all stepped away from the dresser to give the memory the room it needed.

“Did anyone touch him?” Dick asked panicked and looked form one brother to the other.

“No I don’t think so” Tim said slightly dazed. Clark could hear his elevated heartbeat, in fact he could hear several, including his own. That had been too close for comfort. They needed to pay more attention to what was happening around them. They wouldn’t afford to mess up Bruce’s mind more than it already was.

“Here we go again boys” Bruce sighed quietly. He stood a moment before taking a picture from the dresser. It was of Damian. The young boy stood facing the camera, back straight and stiff as a board, shoulder’s tense, hand clasped tight behind his back, feet in a shoulder wide stance and his irritated glare was shooting form his eyes. He looked every bit the soldier he had been raised to be. After looking at the picture for a moment Bruce turned back to the collection of pictures on the dresser. “Give me strength” he whispered to them before turning and limped over to the bed once more.

“Anyone know what this is about?” Tim whispered as they all gathered near the bed.

“No idea” Dick replied just as quietly. Jason just shook his head and Clark pulled his shoulders, however all Damian did was look away when the focus landed on him.

“Let’s hope I get through to them tonight” Bruce mumbled to the picture of Damian and chuckled humorlessly. Ever so carefully he laid the picture on the bedcovers, then he got down on his knees next to the bed.

“Really?” Jason questioned flabbergasted, that Bruce would stoop as low as kneeling in prayer.

“Shhh” Dick hushed him and made a head movement towards Damian. The young boy was watching the scene intently and it was unclear if he had heard Jason’s comment or had chosen to ignore it.

“Please. I’m down on my knees again tonight. I have been here so many times, don’t I deserve to be heard by now? How much more is it gonna take? Can you hear me? Am I getting through tonight?” Bruce questioned and already Clark could hear how Bruce’s voice was becoming strained with emotions. Bruce fell quiet for a moment and Clark heard the deep breathes before Bruce continued. “See there is a boy that need your help. Can you see him? Can you make him feel alright?”

“I didn’t ask for him to do this” Damian suddenly hissed. His arms were locked tight over his chest as if trying to create a barrier between himself and the memory.

“Newsflash demon spawn, one of us asked for any of this” Jason hissed back, but before it turned onto a real fight Clark got between them. Without having to say anything the two broke apart after a final glare at each other, however Clark was fully aware that the two undoubtedly intended to duke it out later once they were done here.

“Please I’m so tired. I have done all I can do. Please just understand that much. If I could, let me take his place somehow. Whatever pain, whatever confusion let me take it. Don’t let him be confused or in pain. Let him live life without this fear that hunts his mind. Let him know that you’re there” Bruce continued seemingly undisturbed by the short argument. “Please I can’t take it anymore. I can’t lose another one. If you want to punish me that’s fine, but please leave them alone. Don’t hurt him. Just tell me, where has he wandered off to? Where is he going? Is he finding what he is searching for? At least let me know if he’s safe. Is he injured? Please just let me know that he is safe” Bruce pleaded his hands folded over his head, fingers gripping each other so tight they were turning white and his forehead pressed into the mattress of the bed. After a moment or two Bruce lifted his head once more and quiet tears were streaming down his cheeks.

“Farther stop this nonsense instantly. It’s degrading. There is no higher power that is going to tell you where I went” Damian practically screamed at the memory and Dick quickly locked his arms around the younger man when he stormed forward.

“Easy Damian, easy” Dick tried to sooth his younger brother as he trashed around in his arms.

“Release me Grayson. I refuse to let farther embarrass himself like that” Damian yelled, but Dick just held on to him.

“It’s a memory Damian, you can’t change it” Dick continued as he held the young man close. “You can’t change it” a sadness as heavy as the world itself was hanging on the last statement, while Dick squeezed Damian closer in a hug. His face looked as burdened as Bruce’s before the young man turned his face down and buried it in Damian’s wild hair.

“I can’t have been gone for that long” Damian protested with an almost defeated huff and stopped his struggling. Dick continued to hold onto him regardless.

“But he lost it the second you walked out the door Damian” the eldest of the robins mumbled as much to Damian as to himself.

“Please don’t take him away from me as well.” Bruce continued his prepetition. “Let him find his way. Let him see the light, just let him find his way home.” Bruce paused for a moment and turned his head to look out the window.

“Pease stop farther” Damian pleaded and grabbed hold of Dick’s arms that were still wrapped protectively around him.

“Shhh I’ve got you” Dick whispered into Damian’s hair.

“Can you hear me? Please tell me I’m getting through tonight. If you can hear me, can you make him feel alright? See he’s not just anyone… he’s my son.” Bruce said as a final prayer, as he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against his folded hands, but his lips continued to make the smallest of movement as if he was still talking, but not even Clark could make out what the stoic man was muttering about. Eventually that memory started fading away leaving the batclan alone in Bruce’s room.

“Well that was over surprisingly quick” Jason remarked, but he sounded tired, almost as if this had caused him as much strain as the memory of his own death. No one responded to Jason’s comment right away, but eventually Damian gently removed himself from Dick’s arms and nervously walked over to the bed as if afraid that Bruce would reappear and the young vigilante would accidentally touch the fragile memory.

“I never realized that he cared so much” Damian said quietly to the bed where his picture was still lying.

“Of course he cared Damian” Dick reassured his younger brother and came over to stand next to him. “I guess that I just never realized how concerned he was that you might never return”

“What do you mean?” Damian inquired still not taking his eyes off the photo of himself.

“The days after you took off me and Bruce spent most of our time sorting through the ruins of Wayne manor and I questioned if it was the right thing to do, I mean you were, are so young and I was concerned for your wellbeing, but Bruce just told me that you needed the time. That there wasn’t anyone like you on the whole world. Even Alfred was concerned that you wouldn’t ever come back, but he just smiled and told us to have faith. I guess I never realized just of scared he truly was” Dick concluded and silence followed.

“I didn’t know” Damian finally admitted.

“I’m getting the feeling there are a lot of things that we just don’t know about him” Tim commented and there was a certain edge to it, but it wasn’t necessarily an angry edge.

“It’ll be alright Tim…” Clark started but was interrupted when the doors to the balcony was opened and Superman gently flew in. The superhero looked about as tired as Clark felt right now. His hair was messy, dark circles around the eyes testified of many long hours and probably several nights with no sleep at all. The memory was so tired that he was sloughing as he hovered a few inches over the ground his arms dangling uselessly around his knees.

“Wow you have certainly seen better day” Jason remarked sarcastically.

“Just because I’m nearly indestructible doesn’t mean I can’t get run ragged” Clark defended himself and crossed his arms over his chest on protest to the statement. The Superman in the memory yawned and rubbed his eyes for a moment. Not bothering to officially land, he hovered through the room and out the door. Clark looked at each member of the batclan for a moment. Were they ready to continue? Could they get through much more of this? They were all looking more and more exhausted, pale and ready to keel over any second. Should they pull out? It seemed like the longer they stayed the more exhausted they became, not to mention that it seemed like there would always be another memory to get through. Apparently, they had taken too long and a hand came into view in the doorway. It was memory Superman waving them over, before pointing down the hall as an indicator that he wanted them to follow and so that’s what they did.

“Please let this end soon” Clark overheard Dick plead quietly and he silently said something similar as they stepped out of the bedroom, but instead of the hallway they had returned to the downstairs living room. This time there was no sick and sneezing Tim on the couch, instead the back of Bruce’s head could be seen over the back of the nearest couch. The memory of superman gave a whiney groan as he floated closer to Bruce. The sound caused the billionaire to turn around in the closest thing to surprise he got.

“I didn’t think you could be coming tonight” Bruce commented with an amused smirk at the exhausted Superman.

“I’m so tired” Superman just complained as he moved to the opposite end of the couch then Bruce and just looked at his boyfriend expectantly for a moment. Bruce raised an eyebrow for a moment before realization crept over his face.

“You’re hopeless” was all the brooding man said before turning towards Clark. He swung one leg up onto the couch and leaned his back against the armrest behind him. The moment Bruce was in position he beckoned Superman closer with the wiggle of a finger. Superman didn’t need to be told twice as he lifted himself up over the armrest in his end and flopped lifelessly against the length of the couch. The powerhouse made sure that his head landed as smoothly against Bruce’s chest as he could and quickly cuddled up.

“You smell nice” came a tired muffled grumble as Superman refused to lift his head from Bruce’s chest.

“And you don’t. Let me guess, you came straight down to find me instead of taking a shower?” Bruce stated more than asked and the annoyed grumble from the superhero was enough for the businessman to know that he was right.

“I don’t smell that bad” came the eventual protest as Superman tried to cuddle closer to the raven.

“I’ll give you that much, but the fact that you’re still waring your uniform also gave it away” Bruce countered amused as he let his finger run through Clark’s brown locks. Superman just responding with lazily lifting his head enough to move from Bruce’s chest to his shoulder.

“Don’t mock me” Superman huffed.

“I would never” Bruce promised with a fake smile.

“I don’t believe you” Superman growled and short after a shriek form Bruce caused the visiting batclan to jump back.

“Don’t. I can’t with the fingers” Bruce growled as he twisted under Superman and grabbed after the cold hands that had snug under his shirt.

“Then don’t tease me” the superhero chuckled as he withdrew his icy fingers form Bruce’s sensitive flesh.

“Don’t think I won’t take my revenge later” Bruce warned displeased with his boyfriend’s actions, before they started to settle down again. This time Bruce sat further down on the couch until his neck was supported by the armrest. Once comfortably settled the raven continued running one hand through Clark’s hair while the other gently held Superman close.

“How was your day then?” Superman mumbled against Bruce’s neck, breaking the comfortable silence that had followed.

“Boring… as usual” Bruce replied uninterested. “Your day is bound to have been more interesting than mine”

“Maybe, but I don’t wanna hear about any big fights or disasters or vultures from the media. I just want to hear about the small things” Clark pleaded.

“You do realize you belong to the vultures of the media category, mister famous journalist” Bruce chuckled.

“Mild-mannered reporter” Superman corrected, causing Bruce to laugh.

“Of course, how could I forget” Bruce smiled as he let the hand in Clark’s hair fall to the reporter’s neck and gave it a comforting squeeze before returning to the hair. “Well let’s see, I spent the morning sorting through a mountain of paperwork and held a short briefing of newly accepted business ideas from Wayne Institute and then sat in a long board meeting with members form Wayne Medical, Electronics and Chemicals”

“What did you talk about?” Superman asked as he lazily tried to rearrange himself to be more comfortable against Bruce.

“Mostly just financials for the upcoming year. Budget cuts, investments, how to avoid firing employees” Bruce hummed bored.

“Did it work?” Clark persisted in staying on the subject.

“I think so. If they follow the new directives there shouldn’t be any reason to worry” Bruce soothed his boyfriend. Leave it to Superman to worry about the little guy losing his job.

“Kick them out if they do” Clark huffed in annoyance.

“Do what?”

“Fire someone” Clark demanded firmly.

“I’ll see what I can do” Bruce smiled as the exhausted superhero reminded him of an overly exhausted child.

“Then what did you do?”

“Are you sure you want to hear all this? Wouldn’t you rather just go up and get some sleep before Alfred has dinner ready?”

“No I wanna hear your voice. It’s been too long” Clark grumbled and Bruce felt how Clark tightened his grip as if afraid the raven would push his away. He really was a little child in desperate need of a nap.

“Alright. Uhh…” Bruce needed a moment to get back to where in his schedule he was. “Once the meeting finally ended it was around lunch time. I was behind on my paperwork so I just returned to my office and continued where I left off. Later I had an inter…”

“What did you have for lunch?” Clark inquired and Bruce could feel how Superman’s body became tenser. Knowing that there was no way around the subject Bruce let out an exasperated mix of a sigh and a growl.

“I didn’t eat lunch” he finally admitted. An annoyed humming erupted form the superhero on top of him. “I know I’m sorry” Bruce apologized more out of reflex then sincerity.

“You need to eat Bruce” Clark scolded and started gnawing on Bruce’s neck as punishment.

“Please as if you are a saint when it comes to having three meals a day” Bruce defended himself and tried to block Clark by pressing his head downwards to stop Clark form moving his, but it had little to no effect.

“I don’t need to eat as long as o have the sun” Clark countered. “I just happen to like eating”

“So I can tell” Bruce chuckled.

“Are you saying I’m fat?” Clark huffed offended by the notion.

“I’m sure you could shed any unnecessary pounds” the billionaire said with lighthearted mockery. A warning growl was heard from Superman, but Bruce just chuckled in response. Soon Clark started moving around once more, but this time Bruce seemed prepared for him. “Sorry, but your hands aren’t as cold anymore”

“Cold finders aren’t my only weapon” Superman smirked and something akin to dread spread over the raven’s face.

“You wouldn’t dare” Bruce snapped in warning. Without saying anything Superman started wiggling his fingers that had once more found their way under Bruce’s shirt.

“No… Stop… Clark I mean it…” Bruce gasped in-between fits of laughter as he tried to escape, but with Superman on top there weren’t a lot of places to go.

“Are you sorry?” Clark asked with a smug look on his face. He had barely shifted his weight to hold Bruce down.

“Yes, damn it… I’m sorry” Bruce yelled desperately and the torture stopped instantly. Bruce flopped down on the couch with a sigh of relief. “Bastard” Brace grumbled annoyed and slightly tapped Clark on the arm.

“You asked for it” the journalist chuckled and snuggled close to Bruce once more.

“Oh no, forget it” Bruce huffed and started pushing Clark away.

“NOOOOO let me snuggle you” Clark whined, with a laugh.

“Urgh you guys are so thoroughly gross” Jason commented at the scene and the Clark that had arrived with the Robins almost jumped out of his skin. He had been so lost in the memory that he had almost forgotten they were there.

“Come on Jason don’t be like that” Dick chipped in and Jason just huffed in response.

“So, you skipped lunch then what?” the memory of Clark asked and Bruce reluctantly indulged him.

“I had an interview and went to several more boring, minor meetings. Did more paperwork and then went home, has dinner and tried to finish my work here, until you came along. There the end” Bruce quickly summed up in a huff as retaliation.

“Sounds like a wonderful day” Clark sighed and relaxed against his boyfriend. Bruce gave a hum and before long his hands returned to Clark’s hair.

“Yeah it was a good day” Bruce agreed and leaned relaxed fully into the couch. The exhausted grownups soon started breathing heavily as sleep claimed them both.

“Finally” Damian exclaimed as the memories started fading. “I through this torture would never end”

“For once we can agree on something, brat” Tim snapped and crossed his arms looking every uncomfortable. Clark resisted the urge to pout, as this was actually a memory he himself held quite dear. It wasn’t often that he got the chance to be with Bruce like that, so the time they did spend together was precious to him.

“Alright so another one done and over with. Now where do we go? We usually have a new direction by now” Jason broke in.

“True, but I don’t see anything or anyone that can lead us on” Dick responded as they all looked around. “Now this might just be me getting paranoid, but as anyone else noticed that everything is gone?”

“No Dick, your right. Up until now it’s only the people within the memory that tend to fade away, but never the place itself” Tim agreed. They had all been left in a dark and empty void with no direction. Had they gone too deep? Had they done something to damage Bruce’s mind? If so they surely J’onn would have said something, pulled them out or something and not just left them to it. Right?

Suddenly a spot went off, casting a cone-shaped light over a doorway. It was made of something that looked like old metal. Small rust patterns were scattered all over, but despite the weathered look it still appeared sturdy and not easily forced open. However, what caught their attention was the large batman symbol painted onto it. Compared to the door itself the logo looked like it had been added recently.

“Well that is certainly not ominous” Jason snapped and took a cautions steep back. Agreeing hums was heard from the rest of them.

“Well we won’t get anywhere by staying here” Damian finally snapped and marched over towards the door, but as he got closer and closer an intense rumbling was heard and soon after the entire world seemed to be shaking.

“I’m pretty sure there isn’t any earthquakes inside the mind” Dick struggled to say as the movement was rumbling through his entire body.

“Maybe something happened in the real world” Jason yelled in order to be heard over the noise.

“In space? Don’t be ridiculous” Tim shouted back.

“Damian step away from the door. Maybe that’s what’s coursing it” Dick shouted as a suggestion, but before any of the others could answer a voice broke through the darkness.

“STOOOOOOP” J’onn’s voice echoed throughout the endless void. The rumbling slowly came to a stop leaving the heroes lightheaded. Their ears were ringing and their bodies would barely stand after all the shaking.

“J’onn, what’s going on” Clark called back and looked around hoping to spot the alien, but only darkness greeted him.

“You have dived far too deep. I can barely get my voice to reach you”

“Then why have you not warned us before now?” Damian yelled in frustration.

“I lost contact with you the instant you went through the door. I have been able to hold onto your consciousness, but I have been unable to follow you through the barricade” J’onn explained seemingly unfaced by Damian’s anger and frustration.

“Then what do we do?” Dick asked as he too looked around. It was strange to talk to someone who’s voice was echoing all over.

“I do not know. I can tell you that Batman is indeed somewhere behind that door, but if you go through it I most certainly will lose you. If that happened then the only way you can return without damaging neither Batman’s nor your own minds is to find him” J’onn.

“That has been the plan all along, so why stop now” Damian snapped.

“Because what J’onn is telling us is that if we continue we run an even higher risk of destroying someone’s mind AND doing it without J’onn to help us or pull us out safely” Tim growled at the youngest Robin.

“But we have come so far. We can’t just give up” Dick tried to encourage, but clearly afraid that they would be pulling out.

“Don’t worry Dick we will get him back” Clark tried to comfort the eldest.

“If you wish to continue then you must hurry. More time has passed then you might realize and his condition is growing worse by the minute. I fear that should he die while you are in here, your minds will be lost as well” J’onn informed them and they all looked around at each other to get confirmation that they were all ready to continue.

“Then let’s move” Dick confirmed and they all moved towards the door this time without the shaking. This was it, they were so close and now it was only a matter of time before they had what they came for. Now was not the time to give up, and with that they opened the door and entered the darkness on the other side.


	4. Chapter 4

Clark felt a chill run down his spine as they walked further and further into the darkness. He couldn’t tell if the feeling was good or bad. It was more like he knew that he was trespassing somewhere sacred. Like they were disturbing the peace and sanctity of the place just by being there. Their footsteps were too loud and Clark could barely hear himself think over the sound of his own breath.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I get the feeling something is watching us and not in a good way” Jason finally broke the heavy silence, but he did it quietly, almost to a whisper.

“This place defiantly gives me the hebei jeebies” Dick agreed as he rubbed his arms, like when he got cold. Slowly the darkness gave way and an empty room came into focus.

“What is this?” Clark mumbled confused. There was something different about this place, mainly because there was nothing here. The room was four dark walls, along with a grey floor and ceiling, but nothing decorated the room. No furniture, no pictures on the walls, nothing that could indicate what they were about to step into.

“I think I found something” Tim announced form the far end of the room and they all quickly gathered around. 

“What is it?” Clark asked as he came to a stop behind everyone else.

“A microphone” Tim clarified and true enough. A small microphone was sticking out of the wall. To Clark it looked like one of the voice recognition microphones Bruce had at the more heavily guarded floors or departments in his many companies.

“So, are we supposed to know the password or something?” Jason asked as he threw out his hands in frustration.

“Maybe, but this wasn’t the only thing I noticed… look” Red Robin continued and pointed behind the group.

“Wasn’t there a door in that wall not too long ago?” Red Hood wondered aloud. The door they had entered through was nowhere to be seen and that meant, that unless they found another way out it would seem like they were stuck where they were.

“Yes, the door is gone, but that’s not what I meant” Tim dismissed Jason’s concern.

“It’s my mark” Dick exclaimed and after readjusting his focus from the former door turned wall, Clark was surprised that he didn’t notice the massive bird symbol that now decorated the entire end wall.

“So, this must have something to do with Dick” Tim concluded and turned back to look at the microphone. “Now the question is what we have to do, to move on form here. Bruce would have left us some kind of clue, so it must have something to do with the memories we saw before we got here, but what?”

“Maybe it’s the prayer Bruce has been repeating over and over” Dick suggested.

“Prayer?”

“I mean it was a little different every time, but there were some things that he said to all of us” Dick explained and went red around the cheeks in embracement.

“It’s worth a try” Tim agreed and stepped back so that Dick had free access to the microphone.

“Alright what was it? … He’s my son?” Dick spoke into the microphone, but nothing happened.

“That’s lame Grayson. Farther would never go for something that stupid” Damian scoffed at Dick’s attempt.

“Then what else did he say…” Before Dick could make another attempt a light went on above them and illuminated the end wall much like a projector would at a theater.

“Now what’s happening?” Clark asked concerned. Just like in the theater a picture was flickering onto the wall. It looked like a training room, with punching bags and all kinds of training equipment along the walls. 

“Come on faster. I wanna get started” a younger voice called firmly.

“Alright, alright I’m coming” a voice laughed from the side of the screen, and soon after a young Dick came into view. He looked annoyed yet determined, and the Bruce that followed him into view looked much more amused. They were both wearing training equipment for fencing.

“I don’t even see the point to this” Dick grumbled, looking at his new guardian uncertainly.

“Fencing forces you to be precise in your attack and defense. It will be a good place to start” Bruce instructed as he threw a practice saber to Dick.

“I don’t need this. I can land any hit I want” Dick insisted as he fumbled with the weapon.

“Let me see your best shot then” Bruce taunted and beckoned the young boy closer. Dick then gave a yell and charged forward, saber pointing straight ahead of him and anyone with eyes could see how the boy was completely off balance. With a small laugh, Bruce easily parried Dick’s attack, and gently guided it to the side without moving his own feet and the boy tumbled past him. The smile on Bruce’s face turned into a mischievous smirk as he planted his heels and turned. With an elegant swing the saber whipped playfully over Dick’s backside. Said boy gave a yelp more in surprise then pain and turned to Bruce while rubbing his backside.

“That was a dirty trick” Dick yelled offened and stomped his foot on the soft mats

“But I landed my hit, didn’t I?” Bruce grinned, all too pleased with himself. Dick let out a frustrated huff and his cheeks puffed out in a pout. “Come on I’ll show you, how it’s done” Bruce encouraged as he walked over and kneeled. The smugness was gone as Bruce showed Dick how to properly hold the weapon by adjusting the youngers body before taking a stance opposite the boy, mirroring his young student. This time when Dick attacked it was slower and allowed Bruce to clearly show how to block and then counter the move.

“Alright I think I got it now” Dick said with clear determination.

“Then let’s try it” Bruce agreed and lunched forward, but instead of blocking the attack with a downward thrust like they had practiced, Dick blocked it with a vertical swing, before swiftly ducked into a tuck-and-roll around Bruce. Just as Dick rolled around Bruce, the boy untangled himself and turned to Bruce’s back and swung his core as fast as he could to returned the swat Bruce had given him not five minutes ago.

“AW” Bruce exclaimed in surprise as the unexpected move made him stumble a couple of steps forward. He carefully rubbed his ass and turned to a grinning Dick who obviously was barely holding in his laughter.

“See I told you I could do it, if I wanted to” the young boy grinned showing all his teeth.

“Oh, you little…” Bruce grumbled playfully, joy and excitement all over his face. Dick was never given a chance to avoid or even counter it. The attack was merciless and quickly left Dick breathless and begging for mercy.

“No…hahahahaha…. Stop, please…. No more, no more…. Wahahahaha…” Dick was gasping for breath in-between bursts of laughter. Bruce was only half sitting on the boy, but even then, he was heavy enough to keep the boy in place, as he tickled Dick breathless to the point of tears. Then suddenly, the memory flickered to a stop as the last of Dick’s laughter echoed throughout the empty room, leaving only the fading light form the projector as evidence that it was ever there.

“And I guess that was supposed to be a hint or something” Jason finally broke the silence that followed the end of the memory.

“But witch part of it was the key?” Tim asked as he turned back to the microphone on the wall. His hand quickly found his chin and his stare intensified as if the devise would somehow give him the answer if he looked at it long enough.

“Guys. I don’t know if I should find it funny or sad that you don’t get this right away” Clark said with a strangely somber look on his face.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Damian snapped at Superman, but the elder hero just sighed deeply as he gently shook his head. Then he turned to Dick with sad eyes and if one were to look close they would notice just how shiny they were from unshed tears of sadness.

“Laugh” Clark said quietly, tired, as he gestured towards the microphone ever so gently.

“What?” Dick almost yelped in surprise and looked at his brothers, but they looked just as taken aback as him.

“Your laughter will be the key. Trust me” Clark insisted.

“Alright, if you think so” Dick apprehensively stepped up to the mic and gently leaned towards it. “HAHA” came a forced laugh that made them all cringe.

“Good lord, you guys are hopeless” Clark sighed and walked over to stand behind Dick. Before the young man got to say anything, the alien grabbed Dick’s sides and started wiggling his fingers while moving them up and down. The reaction as instant, Dick burst out laughing as he tried to swat Clark’s hands away, but they didn’t budge.

“S-s-stop… hahaha, please no more…” Dick continued to laugh and suddenly a loud click was heard, as if a large lock had been turned. Clark stopped his assault on Dick’s sensitive sides as the wall with the microphone split in two and slowly started sliding to both sides, creating an opening in the middle. The wall turned door stopped moving as soon as the opening was big enough for all of them to fit through.

“Really? My laugh opened this thing?” Dick wondered aloud as they stepped through to whatever was waiting for them next.

“Let’s just hope we find him soon” Clark prayed. Surely there couldn’t be long to go.

It turned out that what awaited them was an identical room as the one they had just left. After taking a few nervous steps into the room the gates behind them slammed shut with a deafening bang, causing the batfamily to practically jump out of their skin and for Clark to grab his sensitive ears as they started ringing.

“God damn it” Jason cursed as he placed a hand to his heart, adrenalin pumping in his veins.

“WHAT?” Clark yelled back. He could barely make out anything that was said, but he assumed it was probably nothing too polite knowing Jason.

“Good lord that scared me” Dick sighed.

“Look” Tim pointed at the former door. This time Jason’s mark was spread across the end wall.

“Alright, well we know what works” Dick said with a grin and crept closer to the gun happy vigilante.

“Don’t you dare” Jason snapped as he spun around and pointed a finger at the elder man, daring him to grab his sides.

“Don’t be a baby” Damian snapped.

“Shut it demon brat” Jason sneered back as he turned form one brother to the other, however this was all the encouragement Dick needed. As Jason was occupied, Dick charged forward and quickly dug in his fingers.

“Come on Jason just a little laugh” Dick snickered at Jason’s misery, as Red Hood did everything he could to not laugh out loud while he wiggled like a worm. Eventually a snicker escaped him and the microphone must have heard it as the projector once more turned on somewhere far above them and cast a film over the hero symbol behind them.

“So, Jason’s laughter is apparently not the key” Tim stated intrigued as he turned to the memory.

“Let go of me Dick. Right now” Jason finally yelled and jumped away from the first Robin and Dick finally let him.

“Alright, alright I’m sorry” Dick apologized with a smile as he held up his hands in a surrendering gesture.

“You’re not sorry for shits” Jason grumbled to himself as he fiddled with the collar to straighten his clothes after the assault.

“JASON” a familiar voice called form the memory. “JAAAASOOOON” Batman screamed as he stumbled into frame while franticly looking around himself, probably in the hopes of spotting the young man he was so desperately calling.

“Does that look familiar to you?” Clark asked quietly. Jason just responded with an uncertain sound and pulled his shoulder, arms crossed tight over his chest.

“ANSWER ME JASON” Batman continued to shout at the top of his lungs. The memory around the dark knight started coming into focus and a ruin of what had most likely been a house at some point made it difficult for Batman to get through.

“What on earth happened?” Tim asked a he squinted at the screen undoubtedly trying to deduce what had happened prior to the start of the memory. After a moment, he turned to Jason with an expecting look on his face, clearly waiting to Jason to elaborate.

“Don’t look at me like that replacement. I’ve brought down several buildings in scuffles with the old man” Jason defended and Tim just hummed and acknowledging the statement with a nod, before turning back to the memory.

“Come on Jason, where are you?” Bruce asked in a more normal tone of voice, but was still looking around frantically. Bruce took a deep breath and was just about to call out once more, when a weak cough could be heard. “Jason hold on I’m coming” Bruce bolted for the sound, tripping over beams and rubble as he went, but he never allowed it to slow him down.

“No, no, take your time” a strained voice called out a little further head. Batman eventually threw himself in the ground next to an exhausted Jason who was fine apart from a cut lip and a broken wooden beam half resting on his chest. The young man had managed to brace himself by semi catching it with both hands.

“Jason, are you alright?” Batman asked a he shoved the piece of ruin aside.

“Oh, yeah. I’m peachy” Jason answered sarcastically and his voice changed several octaves as his chest was finally freed. The Jason in the memory then occupied himself with slowly starting to sit up. Therefor he didn’t see how Batman clearly reached for him, but then stopped halfway there and abruptly stood up instead. However, the Jason looking at the memory clearly saw how close Batman had been to embrace him.

“Then let’s get out of here” Batman just stated from above the young man, never looking back at him.

“Sure whatever” memory Jason agreed begrudgingly and started clumsily getting to his feet. Suddenly his eyes rolled back and he started keeling to the side. He only avoided violent contact with the ground when Batman spun around and grabbed the young man.

“Jason. Jason answer me, what happened?” Bruce called out in alarm and carefully adjusted his hold to best support them both. The memory of Jason just grumbled annoyed and seemed to collapse against the sturdy form of Batman. Said vigilante just allowed it to happen as he grabbed his former partner as best he could while pressing Jason’s head against his chin, but then a moment of weakness broke through and Bruce pressed his lips to Jason’s temple before guiding Jason’s head to his shoulder so he could finally embrace his slumped son as close as their awkward position allowed. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you now” Bruce mumbled into dark hair and the two just stood for a moment.

“Dispatch this is unit ten, reporting from the sight. The building in question is a confirmed empty and abandoned building. Please standby. We are taking a closer look for any victims” a voice called from behind them.

“That would be our que to get going” Batman said, probably more to himself than the half unconscious Jason, who was still leaning heavily on his adoptive farther. After a quick repositioning of Jason, Batman could fire his garbling gun and the two flew away from the collapsed building. However, they didn’t go far. Batman landed them safely on a rooftop a few houses over.

“Make it stop spinning” Jason in the memory grumbled as Batman ever so gently sat Jason on the ground with his back leaning against a wall

“Easy Jason, easy” Bruce instructed as he kneeled beside his second eldest. Jason just groaned in response. “Hey Jason, don’t fall asleep. If you have a concussion you need to stay awake” Bruce snapped and firmly shook Jason shoulder.

“I’m not. Just stop yelling” Jason finally answered as he lazily waved Batman away, but he didn’t open his eyes to see where he was waving his hand. “Just need to rest” the teenager mumbled more quietly.

“Jason?” Batman called slightly worried, but didn’t panic when Jason just sighed and silence fell over the pair. It would seem like Jason had fallen at least partly asleep and Batman just kept watch as he waited for the teenager to recover enough so that they could leave the area. As the silence dragged on Bruce started shifting slightly besides the trigger-happy vigilante and before long Bruce sat with his back leaning against the same wall as Jason, so close that their shoulders were touching. Eventually Jason must have senses the closeness as his head tipped to the side and found rest on Batman’s shoulder.

“You’re warm” came a quiet whisper and Bruce just responded by wrapping and arm around his son’s head. They sat like that for just a few seconds before Bruce practically pulled Jason into his lap. After ripping his cowl off, he lifted Jason up so that he could press his ear to Jason’s chest. The memory lingered on the image of Bruce holding Jason close before the film flickered out and left the wall empty.

“So, what’s the key this time?” Jason broke the silence, but before anyone could say anything Clark grabbed Red Hood’s arm and dragged him over to the microphone. Without any explanation, the superhuman pushed Jason up against the device making sure that the microphone was aimed at Jason’s chest. A moment of silence followed and then the click of a lock turning. A rumbling noise filled the room. However instead of opening in the middle like before, the entire wall started opening from the right side alone.

“It’s your heart Jason. The key was your heartbeat” Clark clarified when Jason looked at him in confusion.

“My heartbeat?” Jason whispered as he lightly placed a hand over his heart. Even through it had sounded like a question Clark knew that he didn’t need to say anything else. Instead they all moved forward and took comfort in being one step closer to the finish line.

As expected the next room was just like the two previous once. Dark, empty and with a microphone at the end of the wall. This time they were all more prepared for when the noise of the door slamming shut rang throughout the room. Clark had even taken the precaution of pressing on his ears to shut out as much of the noise of possible.

“So, who’s up next?” Dick asked with forced humor and they all turned to look at the symbol on the wall behind them.

“Looks like it’s me” Tim said and sounded far from pleased.

“Any ideas?” Dick asked with a tired smile.

“Not in the slightest” was the unfortunate answer.

As if the statement was heard, the light of the projector came to life once more and drew everyone’s attention. The memory was of Tim sitting in his uniform in the batcave. Fingers rapidly flying over the keys, the young man didn’t even look down to see his movements, eyes glued to the screen and brows pulled together in concentration. The only thing that gave away the young man’s exhaustion was that every other keystroke had to be deleted and more often than not it took more than one try to get a word spelled right.

“Robin I told you to call it a night three hours ago” Bruce’s voice came from the stairs leading up into the mansion above.

“Uh-huh” was Tim’s answer.

“Tim” Bruce called again as he walked down the stairs.

“No, no, I know. I got it” Tim assured his guardian, eyes still glued to the screen. He was now sticking his tongue out slightly as it apparently required enormous amounts of concentration to spell Asylum.

“Tim, I’m going to go help the Joker escape from Arkham Asylum in about an hour. Do you want to join me?” Bruce asked flatly with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Sure, I’ll look at it right after I finish this” Tim replied with a dismissive tone.

“Timothy Jackson Drake” Bruce called more firmly and this time the teenager turned to look at the elder man with a startled expression as if he hadn’t heard Bruce come in at all.

“What?” Tim asked after a moment of the two just starring at each other.

“What did I tell you about work?” Bruce inquired and raised an eyebrow when the young man had to think about it for a moment.

“Don’t overdo it tonight?” Tim asked carefully.

“I told you to stop working three hours ago” Bruce repeated. “So how come you are still working knowing I specifically told you not to?”

“Come on Bruce. I’m almost finished with this and then it’ll take me an hour… two tops… to finish sorting everything onto the new filing system” Tim protested, but was interrupted by a yawn.

“No Tim. I meant what I said. Now I’ll give you ten minutes to finish and save your progress, and then it’s straight to bed” Bruce grumbled annoyed.

“What? Come on, I’m not a little kid who needs to be told when to go to bed” Tim whined.

“Apparently, you are. Seeing as you can’t keep a proper sleep schedules judging by your recent school grades” Bruce countered.

“What? Those? Seriously we both know I’m smart enough to ace anything they hand out at that school. I’ve just had more important thing to focus on” Tim argued and gestured to the computer behind him.

“Is that so? Then I guess everything is fine” Bruce grunted, clearly not agreeing.

“I’m glad you see my logic” Tim snapped and turned back to the computer. This meant that he didn’t see how an explosion practically went off behind him. Bruce’s face went blood red from anger in an instant and Clark was sure that if he had been there he could be able to hear Bruce’s blood pressure rising, but to everyone’s surprise the dark crusader took a deep breath instead of starting a screaming match with the teenager.

“You are absolutely staying home from patrol tomorrow” Bruce said instead and walked over to the computer.

“If you say so” Tim huffed uninterested as his focus was once more on the computer.

“I usually only see your brattish tendencies when you are severely sleep deprived” Bruce stated as he came to a stop behind Tim’s chair. The teenager in question just hummed as if he was listening to the man behind him. “Having trouble sleeping again?”

“Not really” Tim replied. So, he was at least somewhat listening to what Bruce was saying it would seem.

“If you are having problems you can tell me about it Tim” Bruce encouraged as he snuck his hands onto Tim’s shoulders and started massaging his tense mussels. Tim practically moaned at the sensation and his typing instantly stopped and his eyes closed so he could just focus on the reliving sensation of having his mussels rubbed down. Bruce continued his ministrations and didn’t seem to expect an answer form Tim any time soon.

“We had another fight” Tim finally admitted. His eyes were still closed, but he was now leaning forward and was notably more relaxed than when Bruce first came in.

“You and your father?” Bruce asked for clarification.

“Yeah. He noticed I came home unusually late last night” Tim admitted.

“And then that happened?”

“He started lecturing, I dismissed him, Dana tried to mediate, I bit her off, then he started yelling, then I started yelling…” Tim trailed off, not that Bruce needed anything else to get the picture. Silence fell over the cave as Bruce continued to massage Tim’s neck and shoulders. “I just don’t understand why he suddenly decided to care now that something awesome is happening in my life” Tim admitted after a while.

“And you think any parent would be fine with their child running around Gotham at night fighting criminals of every kind imaginable?” Bruce said with a small amount of amusement.

“Not like it ever stopped you”

“Tim, my parents were ripped away from me at a very young age and although I have few actual memories, I know that they would never have like to see me put myself in that kind of danger, regardless of my age” Bruce speculated.

“That still doesn’t explain why he’s suddenly all up in my business” Tim sighed.

“He just wants to reconnect and in all honesty, I think he feels threatened by our relationship” a ghost of a smile passed over Bruce’s face before it turned much more somber. “Tim, do you have any idea what I would give to get the chance to reconnect with my father? To be a sulky teenager and argue about curfews and when I could start drinking. To actually have him in my memories instead of relying on stories of how great of a man he was?” Bruce prodded. Tim just hummed in thought. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I’m clearly the last person to ask about this kind of thing, but perhaps it’s something to consider” Bruce suggested, but he didn’t get an answer right away, as Tim tipped to the side in the large chair, his eyes closed and his breathing slow and steady.

“I’ll think…” the rest of the sentence was unintelligible mumbling, but the meaning was clear and instead of pushing the issue any further, Bruce turned the chair towards him and he effortlessly gathered the slumbering teen into his arms and started the climb of the stairs leading into the mansion.

“What a pair we make” Bruce chuckled quietly to Tim, but the teen just snuggled closer to the warmth of Bruce’s neck as they walked from the cave and into the hallway. The grandfather clock soundlessly returned to hiding the entrance as Bruce walked away with his precious cargo.

“I love you dad” Tim whispered so quietly that it was almost impossible to hear, but Bruce freezing mid-step indicated that he had heard it.

“Just remember to tell him that when you wake up” Bruce smiled sadly as pride, and hurt struggled for dominance on his face. The memory the flickered to a stop and the light faded.

“Well?” Damian expectantly turned to Clark seeing as he had found the answer the last two times.

“I think Tim is capable of figuring this one out on his own” Clark smiled incorrigibly at the young detective. When Tim just looked at Clark with clear nervousness and uncertainty Clark just nodded, his smile never fading.

“Alright here goes” Tim whispered as he stepped up to the microphone. He took a moment and closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. Everyone remained quiet as Red Robin gathered his courage. In the end, Dick decided that Tim should not stand alone, so he stepped up behind his younger brother and placed his hands on his shoulders. Dick never said anything, but the gesture was appreciated as Tim placed his right hand on the one resting on his left shoulder. Dick gave a gentle squeeze and then Tim leaned into the microphone. “I love you dad” came the quiet voice and soon enough the lock clicked into place. This time the door opened from the left.

“Let’s keep going” Dick encouraged and forward they went, straight into another identical room. Once the door behind them slammed shut they turned to see if it was Clark or Damian who was up next.

“Looks like it’s the big guys turn this time” Jason commented in a tone that was meant to be teasing, but the exhaustion overpowered it completely. “Since you seem to know what will open the door for the rest of us, any idea to your own key?”

“I have an idea, but then again you can never know for certain with that guy” Clark mumbled the last part more to himself then any of the boys. Superman turned towards the microphone, but then had to pause. “This is different”

“What do you mean different?” Tim asked as he stepped up next to Clark.

“It’s not a microphone this time” Clark clarified and stepped aside so the others could see.

“Huh” Tim mummed loudly. “It looks like a microscope glass or something” Tim continued. Instead of the microphone a small, thin, almost invisible piece of glass were sticking out of an opening, where it seemed like one would push the glass into. Ever so carefully Tim reached for the glass and pulled it out. Instantly the projector came to life and they all turned to see what kind of memory they would see this time.

“Show me what part of your relationship you hold so tight” Clark whispered in anticipation as his heart started beating faster.

The Wayne manor entrance hall was the first thing that came into focus as the memory started playing.

“I thought you went home hours ago” Bruce’s voice came from the flickering screen and soon after the man in question came into view. He was dressed in one of his finer tuxedoes, the butterfly was undone and hanging casually around his neck, the first few bottoms of the white shirt were undone and he was fiddling with his cufflinks. A banner reading Charity Gala could be seen behind Bruce.

“I did, but I thought I should came say goodnight without having the elite of Gotham City gossip about it” Clark said form his place leaning against one of the refreshments table, that had been pushed against the wall. He too was dressed in his finest suit, but the difference in quality was obvious.

“Oh really?” Bruce responded with a teasing smile, finally having undone his cufflinks.

“Or should I have just disappeared into the night?” Clark asked with a smile as he pushed off the table and walked over to his boyfriend.

“And have me come find you? I don’t think so, mister Kent. Maybe you don’t know this, but people chase me, I don’t chase people” Bruce flirted back as Clark came closer.

“Strange. I could have sworn you chased all kinds of people around in the dead of the night”

“And just what might you be insinuating, my good sir?” Bruce responded with fake offence.

“Why nothing at all, mister Wayne” Clark assured. They fell quiet and after just a moment they both started laughing. After calming down Clark gently reached for Bruce’s hand and lifted it up between them. “But I was wondering if I might have this last dance?” the reporter asked with a genuine smile.

“But there is no music” Bruce countered and intertwined their fingers. A soft tune started wafting through the room and a quick glance over Clark’s shoulder confirmed that Alfred had started a CD player. Without a glance at the couple he soundlessly returned to the kitchen, most likely to oversee the clean-up. “Teaming up with Alfred is cheating” Bruce insisted as he let his free hand glide up and find rest on Clark’s arm and Clark’s snuck around Bruce’s waist.

“I thought all was fair in war and love” Clark smiled goofily and pulled Bruce all the way to his chest.

“Hmmmm” was Bruce’s only response. Ever so gently Clark started leading them around the room. It wasn’t perfect and far from a real waltz. Clark had no comprehension on ballroom dancing and was constantly where he wasn’t supposed to be, making them step on each other’s toes every other step, but the gentle movement was better than anything they both had experienced that night. After a while they ended up in the middle of the room swaying to the music. A gentle rocking to a beat all their own.

“Are you alright?” Clark asked after a long while of just silence. Despite the humor and flirting, it had not gone unnoticed by Clark how stiff Bruce was and how tense he had been all evening. The forced smile and fake kindness. The tension in the shoulders had reminded Clark of Batman just before he pounces on an enemy ready to tear them apart. The reporter doubted that anyone else had noticed and Clark was unsure if he saw it because of his enhanced senses or just because he knew Bruce that well, personally he hoped it was the latter.

“I’m fine” came a quiet reply, almost a whisper, but Bruce wasn’t pretending anymore. There was no point. They went from proper dancing position to Bruce sliding both arms around Clarks neck and the reporter gently wrapping both arms around the billionaire’s waist.

“I know you love putting these events on as much as you hate interacting with the people who show up” Clark tried to reassure the other as they continued their circulation of each other.

“I hate them. I hate them all. They don’t care for the orphans of Gotham. They come here to look gracious and generous when all they want to do, is to rub elbows and hope that they make better connections so that they might make more money in the future” Bruce sneered, his voice was filled with disgust and dripping with venom. They came to a stop. “Vain, arrogant and ignorant of how other people suffers. They are the sickness that plagues this city”

“I know” Clark just said. Bruce let out a frustrated growl and let his head find rest on Clark’s shoulder. The grip Bruce had on Clark was intense and would have bother most, but it was not a problem for the alien’s sturdy body. The reporter could do nothing, but hold the other close and allow Bruce the space to feel that anger and frustration, to let him feel it, so he could let it go. The tumbling of the body in his arms let Clark know just how intense the anger had been and how much Bruce had needed him tonight. This was not the first nor would it be the last time Clark wished he could have stepped in sooner, that he was free to hold Bruce close and comfort him whenever the other needed him. Slowly, almost unnoticeable at first, the tension started melting from Bruce’s shoulders, making them slowly fall. The feeling traveled down Bruce’s spine making it bend and finally be released from its rigid position. It continued all the way past his knees and made them buckle slightly. Bruce might have even ended up and the floor if it wasn’t for Clark’s strong grip on him. “Don’t worry I’ve got you. I’ve got you” Clark reassured in a whisper.

“I know. That’s one thing I always know” Bruce admitted as he let his body fall heavily into Clark’s grip. Clark held his boyfriend tighter as Bruce seemed to have given up on keeping himself upright and just to be safe Clark lowered them to the floor. There they sat slightly awkward for a moment, before Bruce pulled back and placed a hand on either side of Clark’s face. A soft smile gracing Bruce’s face.

“What’s the matter?” Clark asked concerned, but the look on Bruce’s face made a smile break out over Clark’s face.

“I love you” came the tender reply, barely above a whisper. Clark didn’t respond, but judging by the way his face tightened, lips were pushed into a pout and the tears that gathered in his eyes it was safe to say that he was touched. “What’s the matter?” Bruce asked with a confused chuckle as tears slipped from Clark’s eyes and ran in rivers down the reporter’s cheek.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing” Clark reassured with a found and confused laugh, as he let Bruce run his thumbs over his cheeks, but he couldn’t keep up with the flow. In the end, Clark just sniffled as he placed a hand over Bruce’s and let his thumb caress the back of Bruce’s. “I love you too”

“And that’s another thing I also, always know” Bruce smiled before pushing his forehead against Clark’s. After a moment of standing together the memory flickered to a stop and the light faded from the wall leaving the batfamily to ponder.

“Waw” Clark whispered to himself and took a breath as if he had been holding it, which he most likely had, since the memory started playing. He blinked his eyes rapidly and first now did he notice the wet trail that ran down his cheek. Next to him was Tim. The young man looked at him nervously and held out something.

“Here” he said quietly. Clark shook his head to refocus and looked down at the ting he was offered. It was the microscope glass Tim had taken form the wall, but now a drop was sitting in the middle of the thin glass. “I think you should do it”

“Thanks” Clark replied slightly breathless as he carefully took the fragile glass and inserted it in the holder. The reporter took a deep breath before giving the glass a gentle push. It effortlessly glided into the slit in the wall and a moment of quiet followed before the sound of locks turning filled the air.

“One more down” Dick said and there was a clear sense of relief to it.

“That properly only leaves one” Jason remarked and they all looked at Damian, who refused to look at anyone.

“Let’s just go already” the youngest snapped after a moment of quiet.

“Sure” Clark agreed as the door opened for them this time from the ground up. Despite everything they had been though lately none of them were prepared for the sight that greeted them in the next room. The side walls, floor and ceiling were the same grey, metallic color they had always been, and the door slammed shut behind them, after they ever so carefully stepped through. The difference to this room was that the end wall was made of glass, or another kind of see through material and on the other side of it, kneeling on the hard floor was Bruce. This wasn’t just any Bruce either, it was the Bruce, the one they had been looking for this entire time, was right in front of them. Clark couldn’t explain how he knew, but just by looking at the man before him he had no doubt that this was the man he had come so far to find.

“BRUCE” echoed three times along with one yell of father and another of old man. The entire family ran forward and started banging on the class in the hopes of getting the man’s attention, but he didn’t respond to them at all, if anything Bruce looked like he was in a deep sleep. His kneeling position was sloppy as his spine had slouched, his shoulders were hanging lose instead of squared in a permanent show of dominance and power while his arms were dangling uselessly until they reached the floor, where the hands rested open-palmed in the ground and his head was hanging so lifelessly his chin practically touched his chest while his unkept hair hid most of his face.

“Father. Father can you hear me?” Damian called franticly as he banged his fist against the glass.

“Stop it baby bat, this isn’t going to work” Dick commanded as he grabbed the hand hammering away before the young boy caused himself harm.

“Then what Grayson? We just sit here?” Damian snapped at the older man and shoved him away.

“Listen to me. Until now there has always been an answer to how we get to move forward, some kind of key. We just need to figure out what that is” Dick tried to reassure as he kneeled in front of Damian and placed his hands on his shoulders.

“So, projector come to life, show us what key the demon brat holds” Jason called out into this air, with a mocking level of drama.

“I’ll kill you when we get out of here” the young Wayne snarled irritated and glared at the second eldest over Dick’s shoulder. Jason just shrugged his shoulders clearly not intimidated.

“I could have kill him” Damian’s voice echoed throughout the room and they all looked around trying to identify the source, but it sounded like it was coming from everywhere. “Maybe I should have. But you were in my head, you wouldn’t let”

“Well this is different” Tim mumbled.

“Shhh” came a rather hard hush from Dick. The eldest Robin the narrowed his eyes in concentration to hear what was happening next, as he stood back up.

“You, Talia, Ra’s, your all in here” Damian continued accusingly, then a pause. “But where am I?” this time the echo sounded almost pleading. “How can I ever be the son you need me to be…”

“What is… or was going on?” Jason asked confused.

“Quiet” Dick snapped annoyed.

“… when I don’t even know who I am?” the voice of Damian sounded broken and lost. When Clark looked to the real Damian the young boy had pulled his shoulder up high, almost as if he was trying to hide his entire face with them, while still standing up straight. He looked an awful lot like his father right now. “I have to go”

“Damian” Bruce’s voice echoed like his son’s and everyone had to admit to a certain level of surprise at hearing it like that. “There’s a school…” Bruce sounded so tender and concerned.

“In Switzerland, yeah you told me about it” a sense of hurt rang through the words.

“No. No, this is a monastery… in the Himalayas. I stayed there years ago when I was lost, troubled. The monks helped me in way that proved to be very….” Bruce explained and there was a strong sense of hurt coming from his voice as well.

“I don’t need any help” Damian’s voice broke in annoyed and sounded much more like the Damian they all knew and loved, or at least knew. A silence followed the statement. “But maybe I will later on” came a more pleasant reply. The voices grew quiet and they all waited with bated breath to see if one of them was going to start talking again.

“So, what now?” Dick asked and directed the question towards Damian, but before the younger had time to answer the sound of a clicking lock was heard.

“What is going on here?” Tim asked bewildered and to everyone’s surprise the glass wall separating them from Bruce started to lower until it sank all the way into the floor.

“Bruce” Clark called out and ran towards the man he loved only to be grabbed by Jason.

“Are you an idiot?” the teenager asked furious as the two separated. “The old bat is nothing if not consistent. Have the little brat done anything that could be considered the key to move forward?” Red Hood mocked.

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Clark snapped back annoyed. The man he as trying to save was right in front of him, and he would be damned if he let Bruce suffer a second more than necessary.

“Clark, please I know you want to help, but Jason is right” Dick intervened before it turned physical.

“Will someone write that down? Dick agreed with me” came a semi ironic comment.

“But J’onn made it clear that these memories are unnaturally fragile. We have to be sure what we do this right or we risk not only Bruce’s mind, but our own as well” Dick continued and completely ignored Jason’s comment.

“You right of cause. I’m sorry” Clark admitted with a sight. “So, Damian, you must have some idea of what that was all about”

“And so what if I do?” Damian snapped glaring at Clark, however when the two briefly got eye contact the younger looked away in embracement.

“Please Damian. We are all in this together and trust me, there is plenty embarrassment to go around, so if you know something now is not the time to keep it to yourself” Dick argued kindly, but firmly.

“Fine” Damian finally relented and stared walked towards his father.

“Damian where are you going?” Tim shouted concerned.

“Will you relax Drake. I know what I’m doing”

“Damian, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Dick asked worried.

“Trust me” the young boy just asked as he looked at the first Robin.

“Alright” Dick agreed and watched fascinated as Damian carefully walked closer and closer to his father.

“I’ll make you make this up to me” Damian declared quietly and it was clearly meant to be just for him and Bruce, but Clark heard it, although he promised himself he wouldn’t comment on it. Damian took a deep breath and then he fell to his knees and embraced his father.

The response was instantaneous. The second Damian embraced his father the man straightened and took a gasping breath, as if he had been holding it for ages. Clark instantly felt a pressure against his entire being and it was pushing him away with an overwhelming force. As much as he tried to resist it he couldn’t and before he knew what was happening he was flung back through all the memories he had walked through with Bruce’s boys. Images and feelings rushed through him and he only got a glimpse of the gates, where he had left J’onn, slam shut sealing the precious memories away once more.

More memories flashed before his eyes so fast he could barely make any of it out. Feelings, colors and sensations were all rushing through him and Clark shut his eyes in a desperate attempt to keep from going crazy from all the input, until he sat up straight with a gasping breath.

“…man. Superman” a voice called firmly. Chocked Clark turned towards it and saw Diana looking him over clearly worried.

“Diana?” the superhero asked confuses as he tried to refocus his mind.

“Yes, it’s me. Are you alright?” the princess asked worried.

“I think so” Clark mumbled and rubbed his face. He felt like he had been suddenly woken from a deep, deep sleep. “What happened?”

“You have been down for almost three days” she informed as Clark started looking around the room. Dick, Jason, Tim and Damian were all sitting up as well and looked just as confused as he felt.

“What is all this” Tim asked dumbfounded as he starred at the IV needle in his arm.

“When it became clear that you were going to be gone for a long time, we took precautions to ensure that you had enough fluids and neutrinos to sustain your physical bodies” Diana said proudly with her hands on her hips, but then she turned to Clark with a more serious expression. “The needle wouldn’t go through your skin Superman so we had to rely on UV lights. I hope it was sufficient for you”

“Oh, thank you” Clark replied like an idiot, as he only now noticed the lamps that had been placed next to his bed.

“How is he?” Damian’s quiet voice broke through and Clark’s attention snapped to Bruce who was lying in his bed, still with his eyes closed, still lifeless.

“He has much healing to do” J’onn replied. His eyes were glowing, his hands on either side of Batman’s head as he looked through the dark crusader’s mind. “But the danger has passed. He will make a full recovery given time” the alien finally concluded and a sigh of relief flooded the room.

“How long?” Dick inquired as he gently removed the needle from his arm.

“I cannot say, but he is healing fast for someone who just went through what he did” J’onn commented with an impressed tone before turning to the rest of the room. “As for the rest of you. You too need rest. Your bodies may feel well rested, but your minds have been though a strenuous ordeal and you would do well, not to overexert neither body nor mind until you have had proper rest and recuperation”

“Roger that” Clark said and gave a half-hearted solute to the Martian before he started slowly getting up from the bed. “Well you heard the man. Let’s get you boys home so we can all get some rest” Clark declared and was answered by varying degrees of agreement or just conforming sounds.

“I will walk you all out” Diana offered, but before he left Clark turned to look at Bruce one more time.

“I’ll be back before you wake up” he promised and quickly placed a kiss on the man’s forehead before hurrying out into the hallways to catch up to the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second last chapter. Hopefully I can finish up soon, but the story as a whole is done so the next part will mostly be short little epilogues.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter. Basically a bunch of epilogs

Dick

Dick hovered in the doorway to the kitchen where Alfred was preparing for tonight’s dinner. The former sidekick had been debating whether or not he should ask the butler about what he had seen in Bruce’s mind. After all the was no way of knowing if Alfred was familiar with everything else he had witnessed, but then again, he was bound to be able to answer some of Dick’s questions and in all honestly it was easier to talk Alfred then Bruce, which should be really telling for some reason. 

“Do stop hovering and enter the kitchen properly master Dick” Alfred finally broke Dick’s line of thought, without looking up from his task of cutting vegetables. Embarrassed Dick shuffled into the kitchen and sat down on a barstool on the other side of the counter, facing Alfred. However, the young man was very deliberately not looking at the elder and seemed to suddenly find the far wall’s tapestry very interesting, with only the occasional glance to the butler. In the end, Alfred let out a deep sigh and stopped his precise cutting of onions to look at the other. “Do say what’s on your mind master Dick. I fear if you hold it in any longer you might explode”

“Oh no, I don’t want to interrupt you” Dick hurriedly replied as he sat up straight and turned fully to Alfred. Not believing the first Robin for a moment he simply raised one of his eyebrows, making the other duck his head like he always did when lectured. “Well it’s just…” Dick fell quiet for a moment not sure how to even begin asking.

“Is this about the incident with master Bruce?” Alfred tried to expedite. A confirming hum and a nod was his answer.

“It’s just one of the memories said that my laugh was a key to saving Bruce” Dick started. Alfred just nodded to show that he was following and waiting for Dick to continue. “And I guess I was just wondering what made it so special”

“This couldn’t happen to be the first time master Bruce instructed you in the art of fencing?” Alfred inquired and it seemed like the gears were turning behind his calm eyes.

“Yeah it was… how’d you know?” Dick was surprised by Alfred nailing the memory in one try.

“It’s quite simple really master Dick. It was the first time you laughed since coming into the care of master Bruce” Alfred clarified with one of his rear gentle smiles.

“Really?”

“Indeed. Master Bruce had been so busy trying to bring the man responsible for your parents tragic passing to justice, he didn’t notice you sneaking into the batcave”

“Oh yeah. I remember that night” Dick laughed good naturedly. He had been so angry with Bruce’s absence that he had taken to sneak around after the older man whenever he did show himself in the mansion. “He decided that he would be better of training me properly, least I decided to take matters into my own hands”

“Yes, but what you might not recall is that until that point you had yet to smile, let alone laugh, and despite what he might have you think, it was a great bother for master Bruce to see you like that”

“Guess he found a way to turn my frown upside down” Dick joked and got an amused hum out of Alfred.

“Yes indeed. He always said that out of everything you have accomplished that was the feat he is most proud of” Alfred continued, shocking Dick.

“Really? I mean I have done so many other amazing things”

“And he is well aware and proud of them as well, but he always said to me that that was your most defying moment”

“Why?” Dick asked puzzled by the notion that something he did before he even truly pulled on his costume was the ting Bruce was the proudest of.

“Because it meant that you might yet find your way out of the sadness and grief that surrounded you” Alfred clarified. “It gave him hope that you could be better than him some day.” To that Dick could only hum and look down on the counter as a timid little blush crept over his cheeks.

* * *

Tim

Tim stood nervously outside the office door. He had been debating whether or not he should even confront Bruce for days now. On one hand, he wanted to talk about what he had seen and on the other he wanted to forget ever having seen such an intimate moment.

“Don’t be a chicken now” Tim muttered to himself and before he could regret it he knocked on the door three times in quick succession. Then he waited.

“Enter” came the reply from the other side of the door and with a deep breath Tim entered Bruce’s office. The man was sitting behind his desk buried in paperwork. Despite the Martian’s instructions Bruce had decided to start working again, though only as Bruce Wayne. The batfamily had stood firmly shoulder to shoulder and demanded that Bruce at least not return as Batman just yet, that and Dick had snatched the costume and was hiding it somewhere.

“Bruce?” Tim called as the elder hadn’t even looked up from his work. Said man’s head snapped to the sound of his young wards voice.

“Tim? What can I do for you?” Bruce asked and placed his pen on the desk to give the younger his undivided attention. Tim nervously moved to sit in the chair opposite Bruce. He had practiced so many different approaches to this conversation, but now that he was here he had no idea what to say. “Is everything alright?” Bruce asked concerned at Tim’s silence.

“Yeah everything’s fine” Tim quickly said, too quickly. Bruce raised an eyebrow and lowered his chin as he eyed Tim. “Yeah, it’s not as impressive as Alfred’s” Tim wouldn’t help but comment and it made them both chuckle.

“Come on Tim, what's bothering you?” the superhero asked cutting to the chase.

“Well, it’s about…” Tim trailed off looking for the right words.

“It’s about what you saw in my mind isn’t it?” Bruce finished for him and Tim just nodded. “Look Tim, I want you to know that while your relationship with your father was complicated and not always the best, know that I have no intentions of taking over his place in your life and I hope that I haven’t crossed that line for you. I guess I selfishly read something into what you said, I’m sorry” Bruce quickly explained, clearly expecting Tim to be upset with him.

“That’s just it…” Tim started, but then started squirming in his seat. “I think maybe I meant what I said in that memory” came the unsure follow up.

“What?” Bruce sounded about as confused as Tim felt. It was hard to describe the feeling he had inside as well as describing the whole situation in general, but one thing was certain. He wasn’t angry at Bruce for treasuring that memory like he had.

“I think I want it to be real. I don’t know how to describe it, but I’m not upset… I’m happy about it” Tim declared with more confidence.

“Oh” was Bruce’s only answer and an uneasy silence fell over the pair as both struggled to figure out where the conversation as meant to go from here. Finally, Bruce cleared his throat and Tim turned to the elder at attention. “I don’t want you to think I didn’t mean what I said about you and your father, but…” Bruce trailed off as he opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a massive stack of papers. He looked at the front page for a moment before getting up and slowly stepped around the desk to Tim’s side.

“What’s going on?” Tim asked nervously as he looked up at his guardian. Bruce looked almost everywhere except at Tim. The large man then swallowed hard and with another clearing of the throat he nervously shifted on his feet.

“Just give it some thought and I’ll go with whatever you decide” Bruce promised and placed the papers on the desk with badly shaking hands. Tim’s eyes flickered between the stack and Bruce. Never had he seen Bruce so nerve rattled, but with an encouraging gesture towards the papers from Bruce, Tim turned to see what this was all about. ADOPTION could be read across the top of the first paper and Tim just stirred at it for a moment. “You don’t have to answer right now… I know it’s a lot but I hope you…” Bruce was cut off when something slammed into his stomach and momentarily made him lose his breath. Arms wrapped around him and when he looked down he saw Tim pressing close to him and Bruce instantly returned the embrace.

“I love it” Tim said quietly as he pressed himself closer to his adoptive father.

* * *

Jason

Superman flew over his city and admired the calm night. It had been so long since he had been given the opportunity to simply take in the city without constantly hearing distress calls. The pleasure was short lived when he spotted a familiar figure with a red helmet sprint across a roof before leaping over an ally only to effortlessly continue running on the other side.

“What on earth is he doing here?” Clark mumbled to himself as he headed down towards the rooftops. Quickly Superman realized that Jason was leading him somewhere as he regularly checked over his shoulder to see how close Clark was. The young man ducked behind a corner and Clark speed up to make sure he didn’t lose sight of him for too long. However, when he rounded the corner he almost collided with the young man, who was waiting right on the other side. “Jason” Clark called sounding both firm and confused. The man in question nervously shifted his weight form foot to foot and was suddenly finding the roofing highly interesting.

“I need to… I wanted to ask you…” Jason started, but cut himself off. Superman ever so gently lowered himself to the ground as he patiently waited for Jason to find the right words. He had an inkling on what this was about, but he would let Jason dictate the course of the conversation. “Screw this” Jason finally snapped in frustration and aggressively ripped off his helmet.

“What’s this about Red Hood?” Superman asked calmly.

“You know what this is about” Jason snapped. “It’s that thing I saw, then we were… you know”

“We all saw many things Jason” Superman continued just as calmly.

“What the hell was all that bullshit with my heartbeat about. I had the replacement look into it and that fight was far from the first encounter I had with the old man since returning. So why that one?” Jason yelled as he let his frustrations and confusion become clear.

“Why not ask him about it instead. It seems he could be able to give you a better answer than me” Superman countered. Jason’s tone was starting to annoy him, but he did his best to not show it, after all it was nothing personal. It was just Jason.

“And let him see me like this? No thank you” Jason snapped before turning half away from Superman. Clark opened his mouth to encourage Jason to talk openly with Bruce, but then decided against it. That would only derail this conversation and end with Jason leaving in a huff none the wiser.

“Alright that’s up to you I guess. So, what is it you think I can do for you?” Superman asked instead as he crossed his arms.

“You seemed to understand so much of what all those memories were about so… what is it about that fight that’s so important to him?” Red Hood repeated determined to get an answer.

“Well my guess” Clark stressed. “Is that while it wasn’t your first encounter since your return. It was the first time he got the chance to listen to your heart beating again” Clark explained.

“What kind of sentimental bullshit is that? Have you met the old bat?” Jason growled, but looked strangely defeated.

“He loves you more than you will ever know Jason, probably more than he will ever know himself” Clark promised and placed a reassuring hand on Jason’s shoulder. The younger man stood for a moment and seemed lost in his own thoughts before he suddenly pulled his shoulder free, not that the motion surprised Clark in the least.

“Whatever” Jason snarled and put his helmet back in. “What a waste of time” it might have sounded cold, but Clark was rather fluent in bat-talk and he definitely heard that softness that came with happiness.

“If you ever want to be sure you could try talking to him” Clark called after the young man as he walked away. Jason never responded to the comment, but the thought alone was enough to get a smile to break out on Clarks face. There was hope for them yet.

* * *

Damian

“You have been awfully quiet lately. Is there something the matter Damian?” Bruce asked form his seat at the head of the table. Damian looked up from his dinner plate and saw that his father hasn’t taken a bite from his own dinner and was looking at Damian intently.

“No father” Damian quickly assured as he put his utensils on the table. The two then spent the next few seconds just looking at each other.

“Really? Cause it seems to me like you’re about to explode if you don’t talk about it soon” Bruce continued.

“I assure you it’s nothing father” the young boy insisted, but still didn’t pick up his knife and fork to continue eating.

“So, there is something going on” Bruce concluded. Realizing that he fell in a trap Damian tisked in annoyance. “It’s alright to ask, if you have a question Damian” Bruce tried a softer approach. “It’s the only way you will gather more knowledge”

“Very well. There is something that has been weighing on my mind” Damian admitted and looked back at his half-eaten dinner, but then fell silent.

“Alright, let’s hear it” Bruce gently pressured.

“It’s about that memory…” the young boy trailed off.

“I imagine you have seen a lot of memories in my mind. Can you be more specific?” Bruce asked curious as to what could rattle his usually stoic son.

“It was after the attack form the Owls” Damian started and Bruce nodded in understanding.

“Yes, that one” Bruce hummed more to himself than to Damian.

“I guess I just don’t understand why you treasure it like that. I mean… I left” Damian admitted and sounded almost guilty about it.

“Listen Damian, it was a hard time for all of us and you clearly needed to take that journey on your own. I understand, I always understood” Bruce tried to reassure his son.

“Did you ever try to track me down while I was away?” Damian then asked sounding a little suspicious.

“I wanted to, but no. Alfred made sure I left you alone” Bruce said as half a joke and Damian nodded in understanding. “Although I did get two letters regarding your whereabouts”

“What? From whom? From where?” Damian asked shocked.

“It was the monks form the monastery in the Himalayas” Bruce calmly explained. Anger was starting to creep into Damian’s voice.

“I want to see these letters” the young boy demanded.

“Sure, wait here” Bruce readily agreed and left for a few minutes. When he returned, he handed two small slips of paper to his son. Damian snatched then after jumping out of his seat and quickly marched a few steps away from his father so he could read in peace, not that there was much to read. One stated _He is here_ and the other said _He has left our care_.

“Is this all?” Damian asked surprised. He had expected to see long detailed telling’s of his time at the monastery.

“Yes, that is all I got. The monks would never dishonor the refuge you sought with them by telling me how you were doing” Bruce reassured his son who kept looking from one paper to the other as if new text would suddenly appear if he looked long enough.

“But I still don’t understand why you hold that memory so close if I left and put you though worry and concern” Damian deflated in his chair.

“I’m not sure what to tell you Damian, yes I was sad to see you go, but in that moment, I was also so proud of you. You questioned everything you were brought up to believe and while my beliefs were still new to you, you had still taken them to heart. I know you were struggling, but I was so proud to see you determined to find your own path” Bruce explained and pride mixed perfectly with pain as he described the memory. “But you also gave me hope. When you embraced me, I knew that no matter what you might find out there and whatever else you decided to do, that it would not be the last time I saw you. It gave me hope that we might get another chance when you were ready. That we could still be a family” Bruce finished surprisingly tender. It caused Damian to finally look at his father.

“I don’t know what to say” Damian admitted quietly and Bruce quickly walked up to his son and placed his hands on his shoulders.

“You don’t have to say anything” Bruce assured him. the Two stood for a moment before Damian surprised them both by wrapping his father in an embrace. One that Bruce readily returned.

* * *

Clark

Clark looked up when he heard a knocking on his door. It surprised him to see Dick standing in the open door leading into the rest of the office.

“Hey. Am I interrupting?” Dick asked politely.

“No, no of cause not. Please come in” Clark greeted with a smile. As Dick stepped into the office and closed the door, Clark made sure he saved the article he was working on and closed it so he could turn his attention to Dick. “What can I do for you Dick?”

“Oh you know, I was just in the neighborhood and thought I would just drop by” Dick chuckled nervously as he sat down in the chair opposite Clark’s desk.

“If that’s your best poker face I’m astounded you have been able to keep your identity hidden this long” Clark snickered.

“Hey” Dick pouted offended. “I’ll have you know I have an excellent poker face”

“My apologies. Next time you might just want to use it instead” Clark responded with fake remorse.

“So snappy. You’ve been hanging around B too much” Dick stuck his tongue out playfully.

“What can I do for you Dick?” Clark asked more seriously, but still with a smile and the other let out a sigh.

“Well I guess I really have no right to ask since strictly speaking it’s none of my business…” Dick started and then trailed off. He was finding his fingers and nails to be quite fascinating compared to Clark himself.

“But...?” Clark tried to encourage the younger to continue.

“It’s about the memory of you and Bruce dancing together” Dick explained and finally looked at Clark. The reported simply nodded to show that he was listening and gave a small smile to reassure Dick that it was alright for him to continue the question. “I guess I’m just wondering what made that moment so special to him… and you, now that I think about it actually”

“Well Dick, when two people love each other very, very much…”

“Oh, don’t be a… an asshole about it” Dick chuckled along with Clark.

“You were about to say don’t be a dick about it, weren’t you?” Clark smirked.

“No” the younger declared, but they both know that it wasn’t true.

“Don’t worry. I would never try to impersonate you” Clark continued to tease.

“Urgh you have so been spending time with Jason recently” Dick declared and Clark didn’t even bother to deny it.

“Anyway, I guess it comes down to what Bruce said, that made that moment so special” Clark finally explained and brought the conversation back on track.

“The _I love you_ part? I guess, but you guys can be so disgustingly sweet sometimes” Dick wondered as he settled down for a more serious conversation.

“Well he wasn’t always like that. I guess describing him as closed off would be an understatement” Clark continued.

“Of the century”

“Yeah, I guess I have managed to wear down all those defenses after all” Clark stated with a certain level of pride.

“And you would consider him open now?” Dick commented surprised, but when Clark looked at him with a lifted eyebrow, Dick deflated. “Yeah, your right. He’s practically an open book now”

“But that night” Clark’s voice faded away as he seemed to recall the memory. “That was the first time he said it first”

“Really?” Dick sounded awed as he leaned forward in interest.

“Yeah. It was always just an acceptance of my declaration or a simple return of affection, but that night he looked at me like never before and to hear him actually say it made me so happy” Clark rambled and if Dick listened closely he could hear the lightest hit of a lump in Clarks throat.

“I’ll say it away; you guys can be so disgustingly sweet” Dick said almost dreamily. “But I love it”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think, it helps me improve my writing and keeps me motivated to write.  
If the story doesn't match perfectly with cannon please don't come after me with a sledge hammer, I'm doing my best to catch up with as much as possible xD


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